


Little Girl Lost

by StarvingLunatic



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Child Abandonment, Childhood, Drama, Dysfunctional Family, F/F, Family, Family Drama, Fluff, Novella, Wordcount: 30.000-50.000, Wordcount: Over 30.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-25
Packaged: 2018-02-27 01:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 43,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2672999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarvingLunatic/pseuds/StarvingLunatic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SwanQueen. Set after There's No Place Like Home, but ignores season 4. Emma has a magical mishap and Regina has to take care of her. Added to that, Henry has to learn to share Regina with Emma, who can be very bratty. They might all end up traumatized.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hard knocks

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t own these characters; ABC does.
> 
> Hi, fellow lunatics. I would like to warn you guys that this story doesn’t have a beta, so it will probably have a bunch of typos. It takes place immediately after 3.22 (There’s No Place Like Home), but ignores the Frozen stuff and ignores season 4. It will be SwanQueen. Enjoy, please.
> 
> Warning: if you like Snow White and David, you might wanna turn around. While I think everything that happens in this story is perfectly logical, they don’t come across in the best light.

Little Girl Lost

1: Hard knocks

A heavy knocking echoed through the still, late night causing Regina to growl. She wanted to be alone. _Is that so hard to understand?_ _Considering how simple all of these peasants are, I’m sure it is_. She was sick and tired of everyone in this gods’ forsaken town, especially if it was Miss Swan again. A frown cut her face at the thought of that infuriating name. The sound of more knocking – much more insistent than before – cut through her thoughts and annoyed her all the more.

“I’m coming!” Regina barked as she got to the door, pulling her robe tighter to her body as if it was armor. She considered barbequing the person at the door. It would certainly get the rabble back in line, but it would probably have more people at her door in the middle of the night. “What?” she snarled as she snatched the door open. 

David jumped back and Regina glared at him with as much venom as she could muster, and then some… just in case. He swallowed hard and tugged his arm closer to his body, calling attention to his side. Her eyes drifted down to see an odd sight. David had a child tucked behind him. Upon closer inspection it was a little girl with long blonde curls.

“David, what is going on?” Regina demanded, eyes locked onto him with some suspicion. While their relationship had never been much, over the year in the Enchanted Forest they had been civil to each other, but he had always watched her a little more closely than one would an ally. She had done the same, in case he decided to betray her. But, nope, his daughter beat him to that.

“Can we talk about this inside?” David practically begged. She hated that his expression reminded her of the damned Sheriff and her most pathetic look.

Regina frowned, but stepped away to let him in. It was a cold night and a child did not need to suffer through the chill. Besides, she needed to hear what happened because this looked weird, even for them. So, he entered with the blond child that looked suspiciously like him with Snow’s chin. She could only guess what happened. _But, I don’t really care what happened_.

They went to the living room. David and the child sat on the couch and then he seemed to think better of it. He patted the girl on the head as he stood up. The child squirmed and moved away, scowling. It did not seem like she liked being touched.

“Just sit here with I speak with Regina for a moment,” he told her.

She only nodded and sat with her head down, kicking her little feet against the sofa. Regina decided against addressing that since David slinked over next to her. He turned them away from the child.

“All right. What’s going on?” Regina folded her hands across her stomach.

“That’s Emma,” David whispered, pointing toward the sofa.

Regina nodded. “That answers one question, but leaves so many others. Like why should I care and why are you here?”

“We were hoping you’d keep her,” David implored, clasping his hands together for a moment.

“And why would I keep your now toddler daughter?” she inquired with an arched eyebrow. “She’s your responsibility.” _And a pain in my ass_. A snowball had a better chance surviving in Hell than her doing Emma any favors right now.

David sighed. “Yes, I know, but this is…” Groaning, he shook his head and ran his hand over his head.

“Your responsibility,” she repeated since he was thick. _Maybe I should draw him a diagram, but I don’t have any crayons to put it in a way he would understand_. “This has nothing to do with me.”

David’s eyes, which had lines under them, appeared stricken and he shook his head. “We can’t keep her, Regina. She has magic and none of her memories from being an adult. She didn’t know who we were or who Henry was or anybody. She thought we were just her next foster family and we had to explain to her we were her real family. Everything seemed fine for a while, but she threw a tantrum – one of many, I should add – and almost burned the apartment down, literally. All of the burners on the stove came on and lit up like bonfires. Plus, all of the outlets sparked and buzzed. The light bulbs burst right in their sockets. Regina, we have a baby to worry about. Not to mention, our grandson.”

Regina scowled, feeling manipulated. “Did you take her to Rumple to see if she might change back?”

Breathing hard, David paced a couple of steps. He seemed a bit at wits’ end. “We went to him yesterday morning when she woke up like this. We hoped he’d be able to change her back or get her memories back or something, but he couldn’t do anything for her. He said it’s probably magical residue left over from the time travel spell. Her body somehow absorbed it and it’s working it’s way though her system. She should be fine in a few days.”

Regina was unmoved. “Then, you should take care of her.”

David actually growled. “Did you miss the part where I said she threw a tantrum and almost killed us all? We have a baby in the house and when Neal started crying, she just got more upset. The power lines outside sparked high and a few burned right off the poles. We’ve been trying all day with her, but we can’t. She blew up the sink because she didn’t want to wash her hands for breakfast.”

Regina frowned even deeper. She could remember being a child and having a few magical accidents. She had not known what they were at the time, but she had gotten into trouble with her mother for them and had been punished accordingly. She doubted the saintly Snow White and Prince Charming would do that to Emma. But, this did not seem to be the best solution either.

“Please, Regina. It seems like every time we pick up Neal, Emma needs us immediately and if we don’t attend to her, she throws a tantrum that destroys something in the apartment. If it keeps up, someone could get hurt. I don’t want Emma to go back to normal only to find she hurt Neal or Henry.”

Truthfully, Regina did not care about Emma’s feelings at the moment. After all, less than forty eight hours ago, Emma had ruined her life, taking Robin from her by bringing Marian back. Marian, whom she had killed apparently in the now altered timeline, who was probably reminded everyone what a monster Regina was. She could imagine how everyone must have thought she killed Marian just to steal her family. So, thanks to Emma, she could look forward to being a pariah all over again.

And before that, Emma had planned to take Henry from her, like she did not even matter, like she was not Henry’s mother, like she had not done everything in her power to give Emma a good life, and like she had not helped Emma’s parents come back to her. Emma had not considered her feelings, so she would no longer consider Emma’s feelings.

But, there was Henry to consider, as well as his little uncle. They were in danger if Emma had her usual powers in her child body. There was no way that a child could control that kind of magic, so they were lucky she had only blown up the sink and set the kitchen on fire. She could have done some serious damage.

“And how long exactly did Rumple say she’d be like this?” Regina asked, betraying none of her emotions.

“A few days. No more than a week.”

“And why would you bring her to me? What makes you think I won’t smother the little terror in her sleep?” Regina allowed a cruel smirk that the Evil Queen would have proudly worn to slide onto her face.

David flinched. “Snow thought this would be a good idea.”

Regina chuckled darkly. “Snow may have too much faith and trust.” Of course, not too long ago in the Enchanted Forest, Snow had openly discussed the idea of Regina babysitting her new child.

He frowned. “Regina, I’m bring serious.”

“As am I. Why not take her to her precious Captain? Surely he would love a chance to care for her,” Regina said, rolling her eyes. She could not even imagine that bastard Hook with a little girl in his care. He would probably abandon her at the first bar he stumbled into.

David’s frown deepened, but he did not say anything. Clearly, he knew how ridiculous it was to suggest Hook look after anybody. Regina wondered if he and Snow debated this point before her name somehow came up.

Before they could debate any further, Regina noticed movement from the corner. Emma eased over to them and tapped David in the side. He glared at Regina and then turned to Emma.

“Honey, I told you I need to talk to Regina,” David said. He was trying to sound patient, but there was a hint of annoyance under his tone. Clearly taking care of three children in a day, one of whom had magical powers, had not been a walk in the park for Charming.

“But,” Emma tried to explain. Her forehead was creased and she frowned.

“Just give me a moment, okay?” He turned back to Regina. Emma tugged on his sleeve. “Emma!” he snorted.

“But!”

“I need you to wait,” David said through gritted teeth.

Regina studied the little girl for a moment. She noticed a tiny trail behind the blonde. She inspected the child’s pants. Sighing, Regina leaned down.

“Darling, did you have an accident?” Regina asked in a soft tone. Emma glanced at the floor and nodded. Regina sighed again. “While you were sitting on the couch?” Emma nodded once more.

“Wait, you had another accident?” David groaned. Obviously, this had happened at least once before today. Emma flinched. 

Regina frowned. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We’ll get you cleaned up,” she cooed and Emma relaxed. “Can you wait for me at the top of the stairs?” There was a nod and the blonde walked off, one pant leg leaving a dripping trail behind her.

“Regina, I am so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She randomly went to the bathroom on herself while standing in the middle of the apartment today, too,” David unnecessarily explained.

“Do you have a bag for her?” Regina inquired.

“A bag?” He looked like he did not know what such a thing was and she was tempted to tell him it was the thing in his head masquerading as a brain.

“Yes, with items that belong to her,” she snapped. He was trying her already raw last nerve. She had been attempting to have a quiet night sulking, brooding, and possibly getting drunk to drown her murderous rage (or intense sorrow depending on the thoughts in her head) and now she had to deal with this new mess.

His eyes widened. “Oh! Um… she doesn’t have anything beyond what she has on.”

Regina rubbed her forehead for a second. _This is Charming_. _Of course she doesn’t have anything. This is Charming_. To prevent a headache, Regina felt the best thing to do would be get him out of her house. Besides, she had a wet toddler on the stairs.

“I expect Henry back here tomorrow,” Regina said, as if that was a condition of their deal. In reality, it was an order. Her son should be where his parents were.

David’s brow furrowed and he frowned slightly. “Henry? Why? Didn’t you hear me when I said Emma has magic and can’t control it?”

“I expect Henry because he’s my son and this is his home. Why shouldn’t he be here? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to deal with Emma and you have to get home,” Regina replied. She waved her hand to open the door and started for the stairs, hoping David got the hint.

David stood there, gaping like the moron she was certain he was before he figured out it was time for him to leave. Once he crossed the threshold, the door closed on its own. Regina found Emma waiting for her, as ordered, at the top of the stairs, looking as miserable as a child possibly could. Regina could see the adult-Emma in the frowning face, finding it had that same stretch of adorable. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook away. _I’m tired and angry and this situation is weird even for us and that’s why my brain has suddenly gone berserk_.

“Come along. We’ll get you a bath and dry clothes,” Regina said calmly, but somewhat cold. They needed to get back on track.

“I’m sorry I peed myself!” Emma quickly said, straightening up some. She was tense, but her hands shook with nervous energy.

Regina stared down at the little girl, looking at how big her green eyes were, how they glistened with unshed tears. The child looked positively afflicted by everything going on. Regina tried her damnedest to keep her emotions intact, but it was hard to do with those eyes looking at her. Taking a deep breath, she let everything settle inside of her. _This will definitely need kid gloves, which I fear I no longer possess_. Especially in regard to Miss Swan.

“It’s all right, sweetheart. Come on, let’s go clean up,” Regina said, her voice now as gentle as she could make it with annoyance still in her system. She surprised herself with her tone.

“I’m really sorry,” Emma whimpered, her bottom lip quivering.

“I know. Like I said, it’s all right. We’ll clean you up, okay?” Regina put her hand out, wanting Emma to trust her.

Emma curled into herself and Regina frowned briefly. She tried her best not to think about Emma’s reaction and managed to smile. She just hoped she did not look as demented as she felt right now. Emma looked down at Regina’s hand and then into Regina’s eyes before finally taking her hand. Regina smiled more sincerely now and led the child to the main bathroom.

“Do you want bubbles?” Regina asked as she ran warm water into the garden bathtub.

Emma remained quiet. Regina sighed and put in bubbles anyway. While the water ran, she moved to go find some of Henry’s old bath toys and came up short. He had stopped taking baths a little while before he ran off to Boston. Glancing over at the child, who was very interested in her feet, Regina just conjured up a basket of toys. Emma did not notice.

“The water’s ready,” Regina called to Emma, who did not move. “Emma, please. I’m not going to hurt you in any way. I just need you to get into the bath.”

Emma chewed on her bottom lip. Regina waited because she knew forcing Emma to do anything right now would only result in a tantrum and possibly a burnt down house. She took a step closer to Emma and kneeled down to her level.

“You want to get clean, don’t you?” Regina asked and Emma nodded. “Are you scared? Do you want me to leave?” She did not actually plan to leave, but if it made Emma more comfortable, she would pretend to leave. Of course, later, she would have to find out why Emma wanted her to leave if that was the case.

“No, you can stay,” Emma replied, her voice low, almost a whisper.

“All right. So, let’s get you out of these wet clothes, all right?” Regina moved to unbutton the shirt and noticed it was new. It was also something Regina would have expected to see on an elderly woman. So, the Charmings had time to get Emma at least one outfit, but not others. Thinking too hard on it would hurt her head, so she let it go.

Emma stood perfectly still while Regina stripped her of the unfortunate shirt she wore and peeled off her soaked slacks. She then lifted the child into the tub. She was light and Regina wondered if her body had reverted back to exactly as it was when Emma was… whatever age she was supposed to be. Regina put a couple of toys in the tub with her and left the rest of the basket on the edge. She then went to sit on the closed toilet. Green eyes never left her.

Regina watched as Emma watched her. The little blonde had her head ducked just a little, hiding behind some bubbles, and watched Regina out of the corner of her eye. Regina wondered what the child was waiting for, but decided against asking.

“So, Emma, how old are you?” Regina asked curiously, wanting to make small talk to get the girl comfortable. Emma only frowned. “About four?” Regina guessed from the size of the child and how much she weighed. But, she really only had Henry and Roland to judge by. Boys might have been different from girls.

Emma frowned more and put her chin up. “I’m six!” She then proceeded to hold up seven fingers. Regina was confused to say the least.

“You do realize you have seven fingers up, correct?” Regina inquired with an arched eyebrow.

Emma’s forehead creased and she looked at her hands. Squinting, she dropped three fingers. Regina smiled a bit and shook her head. Emma scowled at her hands and then dropped them down, splashing the water.

“Well, I’m six,” Emma grumbled, glaring at a pile of bubbles.

Regina merely made a noise. That was disconcerting. Emma was rather small for a six year old. It could be magic, but she was willing to bet this was the size Emma was as a child. Not to mention, she had accidents and she flinched away from touching. Regina could already guess what Emma’s childhood was like. She would definitely have to tread lightly.

“He left me, didn’t he?” Emma asked, her tiny voice disrupting Regina’s thoughts.

“Hmm?” Regina replied.

“The man… David… whoever, he left me.” This was a statement.

“He wants me to take care of you.”

Emma only scowled, looking very much like a three foot, chubby cheeked adult. Regina did not press for anything, merely watching to make sure Emma did not drown. Emma did not play with any of the toys. She sat there, eyes focused down with the occasional glance at Regina. After a while, Regina checked for signs of pruning. Emma showed her hands without any protest.

“That means it’s time to get out. So, we need to wash you up,” Regina said.

Emma only nodded. Regina had to wash Emma up, retrieving a washcloth from the cabinets on the wall. She stayed clear of Emma’s personal area, leaving the child to clean there. Inspecting Emma’s head, she did not think her hair needed to be washed yet. She then wrapped Emma in a big, fluffy towel that practically swallowed the girl.

“Now, we need to get you dressed,” Regina said. Of course, she did not have any clothing for little girls, but she had the next best thing.

She went to the guest room with Emma following behind. She pretended to go through the dresser in there and pulled out a plain, red pajama set for Emma as well as underwear, all made with her magic. Emma was dried, dressed, and ready for bed in no time.

“How do you feel?” Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. “Better.” The bland reaction was more than what Regina expected, so they were getting somewhere.

“Good. Have you eaten?” Regina inquired. She should have gotten that information from David, but as useless as he was, he probably did not know. It was late for a child to be up, so she would prefer to just be able to put Emma to bed than anything else.

Emma shrugged again. This was a step up from her frowning, but Regina needed more information. Kneeling down again, she put her hands on Emma’s shoulders. At least Emma did not flinch away or try to shrug her off.

“Emma, I need you to talk to me.” There was only another insufferable shrug. Sighing, Regina kept down her annoyance. “Emma, right now, your best move is to talk to me. Are you hungry?”

“Best move?” Emma echoed with a furrowed brow.

“Yes. Your best move. You know like when you’re playing a game and you want to win?” Regina asked. Emma nodded. “Yes, when you want to win, you have to use your best moves. Talking to me is your best move. Now, are you hungry?”

Another shrug was her response. “I guess.”

That was better than nothing. “Come along, then. We’ll get you a sandwich.” No reason to give Emma anything heavy since she would be going to bed almost immediately. Ten o’clock was much too late for a young child to be awake.

Emma followed quietly behind her. Regina slowly made her way down the stairs, not wanting Emma to feel rushed. She noted the light liquid trail from earlier and magically did away with it as they passed it. _Hopefully, there won’t be any more accidents_.

She made Emma a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich, remembering how much Henry enjoyed them when he was around this age. With the crushes cut off and the sandwich in four triangles, Regina set Emma up at the dining room table with a cup of apple juice. She left Emma to eat for a moment to go clean her couch, which she did with magic. For a moment, she dwelled on it, wondering why Emma had had an accident. _Perhaps, if I know why, I can make sure she doesn’t do it again_. But, she did not have the time to ponder it. She needed to get back to Emma, as small children were always full of surprises when left alone for any given time. When she returned, the sandwich was all gone.

“My, goodness, you have a very healthy appetite,” Regina commented, taking Emma’s empty plate. “Did David and his wife feed you?”

Emma shrugged and stared at the floor. “Some.”

“Did you eat what they gave you?”

“Some.” Emma rubbed her eye with her fist and yawned.

“I think someone’s tired.”

“Not me,” Emma objected. “I can stay up real late.” She yawned again.

Regina smiled. “Of course, you can. Then you can keep me company.”

Emma beamed and Regina kept in a chuckle. She led Emma to the living room and they sat on the now clean couch. Emma’s brow wrinkled.

“What’s wrong?” Regina asked.

“You didn’t make me sit in the wet spot.” She sounded confused, almost troubled.

Internally, Regina frowned, but managed to keep a calm expression. “Of course not. That would’ve been a bad move on my part.” She noticed Emma’s face twitch a bit, like she understood that somehow. “Beside, there is no longer a wet spot. I cleaned it up.”

“Oh.” Emma practically squeaked, her little face scrunching up. “Um, sorry about the couch.”

Regina waved her off. “It’s quite all right. Now, I need to finish this book. Do you think you could sit with me while I do that?” She figured she could read a little to Emma and the child would surely fall asleep in no time.

Emma nodded and rubbed her eye again. “Could I… Um… watch TV?”

Regina felt that was fine. Emma was fading and probably would not make it through a show. Besides, she doubted young Emma had a chance to watch much television.

“All right. What do you want to see?” Regina asked.

“Cartoons!” Emma actually grinned.

Regina could not help smiling, even though it was a slight expression. It was nice to see the little girl happy. _Stop it. This is Miss Swan. You don’t care if she’s happy… even if she’s only a child_. Shaking her thoughts away, Regina found a cartoon channel that Henry still watched on occasion and left the little girl to her show. Emma was asleep in less than ten minutes despite struggling to keep her eyes open.

Regina smiled to herself as she gathered Emma in her arms. She carried the child to the guest room and laid her in the bed. She brushed blond locks from a pale forehead.

“Hopefully, this will be over soon,” Regina sighed. She was not looking forward to keeping Emma for much longer.

She was not in the mood to do anything resembling taking care of Emma, but it was not like she could throw out a small child. Worse than that, it was not like she could send her back to the Charmings. Those two idiots had already done enough damage.

“You would think they’d jump at the chance to ‘raise’ Emma,” Regina muttered, shaking her head.

Sighing, Regina decided not to think on it. She went to bed, leaving her door open just in case. She recalled when Henry was five or six, he occasionally had nightmares and would come in her room. Sometimes, he would not wake up, but she liked to hear him and go comfort him in his sleep if necessary. Then, of course, there were the few times when he just woke up and needed something. Little Emma might need her in the night and despite the fact that she was still incredibly pissed at Emma, she would not let her suffer in child form. The suffering could wait until Emma was an adult again.

-8-8-8-8-

Screams in the middle of the night shocked Regina out of her sleep. Gasping, she actually vanished from her bedroom to Henry’s room. For a moment, she was confused as to why his room was empty, but then she remembered he was with his grandparents and she had another child in the house. So, with another flick of her wrists, she appeared in Emma’s room.

Emma thrashed in her bed and claws at the mattress. Her covers were off her body and her pillows were on the floor. Regina watched for a moment before sliding onto the bed and gathering Emma up in her arms. Emma had already sweated through her pajamas and actually torn her sleeve. Regina held her tightly as she flailed, wanting to at least make sure little Emma did not hurt herself.

“Shh,” Regina cooed, patting the girl’s head.

Emma bawled in her sleep, but also curled into Regina. The mayor took a beating in her time holding the child, but slowly Emma calmed down. It took almost an hour, though. Regina was actually scared to leave her when she finally settled. Surely whatever haunted little Emma would come back if no one was there.

“That’s how terrors are…” Regina murmured. So, she held Emma for almost another hour before she felt confident in leaving. She slept the lightest that night since Henry was a toddler.

In the morning, Regina needed coffee before anything else. She poked her head in the guest room, checking on Emma – after coffee – to find the little girl sitting up in bed, looking as lost as ever. _A lost girl_. It had not made nearly as much sense in Neverland as it did now.

For Regina, the term “lost boy” had always carried a mutual sense of abandonment. Boys off looking for adventure, following Pan, and leaving home only to be forgotten by their parents eventually. The boys lost themselves just as much as their parents lost them. Little Emma, then and now, could not fit into that hole. No, this “lost girl” was a different creature.

Emma seemed utterly lost, like she was adrift at sea all on her own. Most of the time, the sea was rough and choppy, throwing her about. Sometimes, the waters might calm, but there was always water, never any land in sight. Emma had no clue how or why she had gotten into those waters, but drifted on, having no choice. It left her with many worries and scares and seemed like even in calm times, she just waited for the rough waters to return. No time to think about anything else, just the upcoming torrent.

“Would you like some breakfast?” Regina asked, doing her best to sound normal to avoid frightening the little girl.

Emma nodded. “Yes.” Her voice was tiny.

Regina resisted the urge to correct the statement to “yes, please.” She did not want to give little Emma any reason to shut down or shut her out. 

“Come along, then.” Regina gently waved her on. Emma looked away and then shook her head. Regina arched an eyebrow. “Well, you can’t have breakfast unless you come downstairs. What’s wrong?” Emma shook her head again. Regina sighed softly and walked over to the bed. “Sweetheart, you can tell me. What’s wrong? Did something happen? Did you have another accident?”

Emma shook her head. “No. Well… not _that_ accident.”

Regina’s brow wrinkled. “What sort of accident then _?” Please, don’t let her have completely soiled my good linen_.

Emma nibbled on her lip and then held up her arm, showing off the ruined pajama top. “I teared it.”

Internally, Regina breathed a sigh of relief. Regina smiled, wanting little Emma to know it was all right. “I know. You had a nightmare last night and I think you were trying to escape it. It’s fine. We’ll get you some better things today.” She felt like the poor child needed actual clothes rather than her just using magic for everything.

Green eyes blinked owlishly. “Better?”

“Yes, but first you need to have breakfast.”

A pale forehead wrinkled. “So… I’m not in trouble?”

“Not for an accident. Now, come along.”

“But, I was bad.”

Regina wondered how many times little Emma had been told she was bad for things out of her control. “No, it was an accident. Now, let’s have breakfast.”

Emma nodded and hopped out of the bed, following Regina out of the room. _I think I could learn to like the miniature version of Miss Swan. She’s much more compliant and easier to get along with than the full size cretin_. Emma went to the dining room table while Regina went to put on some oatmeal. She poured Emma a cup of juice for her to drink while they waited. Emma played with the glass while squirming in her seat.

“Are you all right?” Regina asked.

Emma frowned, but nodded. “I hafta pee.”

“Then by all means, go to the bathroom. Come, I’ll show you where it is down here.” Regina was glad to know Emma did not constantly have accidents. She considered last night might just be from the trauma of being dropped off into an unfamiliar environment. It would also explain the accident at the Charming home. It had to be disorienting and traumatic to wake up in a new home with no clue how she got there and with people she did not know, all probably claiming to be her family.

Once Emma was taken to the bathroom and fed (she had two serving of oatmeal in less than five minutes), Regina dressed her. Emma did not seem like a “dress” child, but Regina was a dress woman, so she put Emma in a little dress made from magic, shrinking down one of her more conservative outfits. Emma did not object, but she did look down at her clothing as if she could not figure out what it was. 

It only took a moment for Regina to get ready herself. She went to the front door and stepped out, but Emma did not follow. Regina turned and saw the little girl had a furrowed brow and frown.

“Is there something wrong, Emma?” Regina inquired with a calm tone. It took all of her willpower to not arch an eyebrow, believing it would intimidate the skittish child.

“You’re taking me back,” Emma hissed.

“Taking you back? To David and Snow?” Regina laughed. “I promise you, that is not the case.” _I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, obviously_.

“No, to the group home. You’re giving me back. You said I wasn’t bad, but you’re giving me back!” Emma glared at her, eyes accusing Regina of horrible crimes.

Regina shook her head and smiled. “I’m not giving you back.”

“Yeah? That’s what that guy David said before he left me with you.”

“Well, David’s an idiot.”

Emma frowned more. “Yeah, but he also said he was my dad and then he gave me to you. Just like Zac said he was my dad and then him and stupid Courtney, who wanted me to call her mom returned me, took me back to stupid group. Stupid Jake and Abby did the same thing. Mommy and Daddy did the same thing. You’re returning me.”

 _Lost girl_ , the term floated through Regina’s mind again. “Emma, I promise, I’m not… returning you.” She chewed the word “returning” out of her mouth because who returned a child? Then she recalled how she was with Henry in the beginning. For a time, she had considered “returning” him, but then felt horrified at doing such a thing. She could not see how people actually went through with that. _Doesn’t everyone feel that acid burn in their stomach and that squeeze of their heart when trying to take a baby back?_ She could not possibly be the only one.

“Everybody promises that,” Emma grumbled, kicking at an imaginary rock.

“I’m sure they do, sweet child, but I’m not everybody. I’m Regina and I’m going to hold onto you for as long as you need me,” Regina vowed. “That’s my best move.” Emma seemed to like the term, so she thought it would help sell the idea. She was wrong.

Emma shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you!” She stomped her foot and folded her arms across her chest. The porch light sparked.

“Emma, sweetling,” Regina cooed, stepping back to over to her. She went down on one knee, putting herself on level with Emma. “I’m not going to return you. I want to take you shopping. You need things.”

Emma frowned. “I have things.”

Regina’s face deadpanned. “Where are these things then?”

Growling, the child looked away to the side. “I dunno…”

Regina believed this was a lie, but did not press Emma. Maybe she did have things, or thought she did at the least. Who knew what a six-year-old Emma traveled with, after all. _I wonder if her “superpower” works_.

“Emma, I know this is hard to believe and you’re scared, but I’m not going to return you to anyone. I want to take you to get you some clothes. Just look in my eyes and if you still think I’m going to take you back, we’ll go back in the house and you can stay there until you want to leave. Okay?” Regina said.

Emma nodded and turned to look Regina directly in the eyes. Regina focused on the green eyes in front of her, mapping out the differences between these big, almost innocent orbs and the hard, jaded gaze of the adult Emma. She could already see signs of who this girl would grow up to be, the suspicion and mistrust already there. _I suppose we can stay inside until she changes back_. And then Regina would savor kicking Emma out. Her thoughts were interrupted when Emma put her hand on Regina’s shoulder. Regina knew what that meant.

“So, you’re ready to go?” Regina asked. Nodding, Emma smiled. Regina took her hand and led her to the car.

“Can I sit in the front?” Emma requested with a hopeful smile.

“You’re much too young for the front seat. You will sit in the back with your seatbelt on and I will let you listen to whatever music you want to on the radio,” Regina replied.

Emma pouted, but she did not object. They spent the first five minutes of the ride looking for suitable songs for Emma. Fortunately, the radio station was still stuck in the 80s, so the music did not sound completely alien to the child and she did not complain about anything. She hummed along to the songs, danced in her seat, and kicked her feet. Henry used to be the same way.

Regina entertained the idea of going to a thrift shop. After all, Emma was only going to be a child for a few days, a week at most, but Regina could not bring herself to do it. She wanted to dress Emma in nice things, if only for the blonde to be weirded out by it when she returned to her rightful self and realized she had been dressed like a little doll. So, they went to the high end shopping area with tons of boutiques.

Regina shopped here for herself. She was not sure how it was since the Curse had been lifted, but she hoped some of the stores were still open. Parking, she let Emma out and Emma took her hand without prompting.

“We’ll get you some very pretty things, all right?” Regina said with a smile.

Emma beamed for the first time and Regina could not help thinking she was adorable. The first few shops they passed were closed, but Regina’s favorite boutique remained. Stepping inside, it even smelled the same.

The shop owner came to greet them. “Good morning, Your Majesty.” She was a middle-aged woman, greying to some degree with deep brown eyes.

“Evelyn, please, continue to refer to me as Regina,” she requested. Evelyn had been her dressmaker for her entire tenure as queen, seeing her at both the best of times (as few as those were) and, of course, the worse. Evelyn could always find the perfect outfit to match or improve her moods.

“I dare not!” Evelyn objected, utterly scandalized by the very idea. “I have some sense of decorum even if the rest of this heathen town has lost all sense of decency.” She sniffed a bit, affronted by the town. “Now, what might I do for you?”

“I’m not sure how you are with dressing children, but I trust you and I need clothing for this little one.” Regina motioned to the child currently hiding behind her skirt.

Evelyn looked down and her thin eyebrows drew in close. “You’ve adopted another one? She is just as adorable as your son.” She smiled down at Emma.

“I suppose. Say thank you for the compliment,” Regina instructed the little girl. There was a “thank you,” but it was so low that it could have come from the wind.

“She looks familiar,” Evelyn commented, examining Emma.

“It’s the chin, I’m sure. But, this is Emma. And yes it’s the Emma you’re thinking of. There was an…” Regina trailed off, not wanting to use the word “accident” because she did not want Emma to be self-conscious or offended.

Evelyn shook her head. “No need to explain. I’ll try to find something for her, but as you know, most of my merchandise is for adults.”

“I trust you.”

Regina had a seat on one of the cushioned chairs and Emma followed suit. One of the shop girls brought tea for Regina and milk for Emma while Evelyn put together an outfit. The shop girl declared Emma to be “so cute” and a tiny “thank you” came from behind the milk cup. Regina sat up a little taller. _She can be taught_.

“All right. I have five outfits I’d like to see her in. I’m not sure if they will suit her as I’m not completely familiar with her, but from what I can see…” Evelyn had more than likely chosen colors to complement Emma’s hair and complexion as well as her shy demeanor.

“We’ll go through them.” Regina turned her attention to Emma, who sported an endearing milk mustache. Regina was not sure if she would be able to survive the onslaught of cuteness if every other thing Emma did made everyone want to go “aw” at the top of their lungs. “Emma, Evelyn needs you to try on some clothes.”

Finishing up her sip, Emma licked her lips and smacked them together. “You’ll still be here, right?”

“Of course. I’ll sit right here and finish my tea. The dressing room is right over there.” Regina pointed to the booths, which were hidden behind a wall.

Emma frowned. “Not closer?”

“I’ll come with you,” Regina said. There was no telling what Emma might do alone and afraid. She needed to make sure Evelyn’s shop remained standing. After all, she would need new clothes for the spring.

Emma hopped up and waited for Regina to stand before following Evelyn. The three shop girls in Evelyn’s employ hung around the corner, but looked into the corridor with the dressing rooms, waiting to see what outfits Emma would come out in. Regina had to give Emma a small pep talk about going into the dressing room with Evelyn to make sure the clothes were put on correctly, but eventually Emma went inside. She emerged minutes later. The first outfit was almost like a school uniform, but instead of a skirt, Evelyn had given Emma red plaid pants and a matching tie. Regina’s mouth twitched.

“She didn’t want to try on the skirt that went with it, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t work,” Evelyn explained.

“It’s acceptable,” Regina said. Evelyn smiled, knowing this was as close to a compliment as the Queen would come. “Emma, do you like it?”

Emma shrugged. “I guess.”

“Emma, remember you have to talk to me and you have to be honest. You’re the one who will be wearing this. Do you like it?”

The child nodded, so this was one outfit out of the way. By the second one, Regina knew she was already too invested in a simple shopping trip. The pinstripe pants and white shirt that Emma came out in next needed something more and it was Regina who found the perfect vest for it. She also wanted a chain clip for the pocket of the vest. Emma stood perfectly while this went on. By the third outfit, Regina was gone, deciding they needed shoes, boots, belts, and other accessories.

“It’s not too late for a little girl, Your Majesty,” Evelyn whispered as the former queen gathered some ribbons.

Regina frowned briefly. “Henry is enough,” she replied in a clipped tone.

Evelyn merely smiled at her and then went back to dressing Emma, who was fading. Her eyes were droopy and there were little frown lines around her mouth and on her forehead. Regina checked the time and realized they had been trying on clothes for almost three hours. Poor little Emma was probably bored to tears and tired of trying on clothes. _Henry could never make it past two hours of clothes shopping_.

“This should be enough for now, Evelyn. Ring us up,” Regina ordered, but her tone was polite… polite for her anyway.

“We’re leaving?” Emma asked, some hope in her voice.

“Yes. We’ll get some lunch and then see what else you might need,” Regina answered.

Emma shrugged and took Regina’s hand. Clothing paid for and bags in hand, the pair marched out. Regina put Emma in the car before putting the clothing in. Emma stared out of the window, frowning a bit. There was something wrong.

“Do you need something?” Regina asked as she put the car in motion.

Emma shook her head, but continued frowning. Regina thought it was probably just hunger, so she drove over to Granny’s. She would reward the girl for being a wonderful little shopper with some less than healthy food. She just hoped a certain outlaw family was not dining there at the same time. She would not suffer their presences right now. She also hoped the sight of her taking care of their precious Savior kept people from calling her a monster to her face.

The bell chimed as they entered and Ruby saw them almost immediately. She rushed over, undoubtedly knowing Emma was the child just from the smell. Emma pushed against Regina’s side, but she did not hide like she had with Evelyn. Regina guessed Emma was already familiar with Ruby.

“Hey, there, Emma. You look very cute. You’re with the mayor today?” Ruby asked the obvious. The waitress looked a little confused by this, which made sense to Regina. This confused her as well, after all.

“Yes, she’s with me and she’s quite hungry,” Regina replied, doing her best to be polite. There was no reason to teach little Emma bad habits. Those would return when she was an adult after all.

Ruby smiled, though it was a bit strained, like she understood the hidden bite in Regina’s words. They sat in a booth and Ruby came to take their orders.

“Emma, you want what you had yesterday?” Ruby offered with a bright smile.

Regina figured the Charmings had come by the diner yesterday with Emma, probably before or after going to see Gold. Emma’s eyes lit up for a moment and then she turned to Regina expectantly. Of course, Regina had no idea what Emma had yesterday, but if it would help lift her spirits after enduring power-shopping, it would be fine.

“She didn’t have some sugary confection, did she?” Regina asked. She would not suffer through a hyperactive child. And she imagined Emma was probably quite crazy and clumsy when filled with sugar.

“Nope. Simple hamburger with the works. I was surprised a little bit like her could eat the whole thing, but she practically swallowed it,” Ruby reported.

“That’s fine.”

“Now, you might object to the m-i-l-k-s-h-a-k-e she had,” Ruby stated. It was a bit surprising that Ruby knew to spell things out in front of little Emma.

“Yes, that might be too much. Bring her some lemonade with her hamburger. Make sure the lemonade is mostly w-a-t-e-r.”

Emma looked between them, knowing something was going on, but clearly confused by it. Ruby smiled and nodded. “And you’ll have your usual?”

Regina nodded and Ruby was off. When she returned, Emma plunged into her meal with huge, loud bites. Regina frowned, not surprised at all the girl ate like a savage. While the adult Emma had some control, if a person sat close enough, one could definitely hear her eating. Not to mention, she ate with great speed, like she expected her food to be taken from her at any moment. Little Emma was a million times worse. Ketchup and mayonnaise smeared around Emma’s face as she dived into her burger over and over again. Before Regina could reprimand little Emma’s atrocious mealtime behavior, Ruby spoke.

“So, how did you end up with her?” Ruby asked, nodding toward Emma, who was too interested in her hamburger and fries to pay them any mind.

“Her father dropped her off. You should speak to them if you want to know why she’s in my custody. I’d love to hear their spin on this,” Regina answered with a smirk. She knew tiny creatures had big ears, so she did not want to say anything to discourage Emma, but she wanted Ruby to know her precious, beloved Charmings had intently left Emma with her.

Ruby frowned, but she wisely did not press. She was not the only one who wanted to know why Regina had little Emma and they did not ask nicely. People just came over, demanding to know how she got the tiny blond or what she was going to do to Emma. Regina barely made it through her grilled chicken salad and was one question away from frying someone when Emma finally finished her food. Emma did not look any happier than she had when they arrived. Regina wondered what was wrong.

“Emma, if anything’s bothering you, you should tell me,” Regina said, leaving money on the table for their meal. “We’ve gone through this.” She did not want to have the same conversation every two hours.

“I’m okay,” Emma muttered, eyes on the floor.

Regina did not want to force the child to talk; Emma would say something when she was ready. Of course, Regina did not like having to go through this. She was used to someone talking when she told them to do. Still, she buried any of her negative emotions. Emma did not need her acting like a child as well.

Besides, maybe Emma was just a moody child. She only became more sullen as they went grocery shopping. Regina even promising to make cake did not lift her mood and she knew how much Emma loved sweets. Then, Emma let out the most adult sigh Regina had ever heard when they passed the “toy” aisle. Emma stopped and stared down the corridor full of cheap supermarket toys.

“Come along, Emma,” Regina called, making her way to the register.

Pouting, Emma followed behind her until everything was paid for and in the car, including her. Emma kicked the back of the passenger seat. Regina frowned, but managed to bite back any anger. She could see why some people said the second child was easier, as she definitely would have said something to Henry at this age. Of course, those people probably did not have an emotionally damaged second child who could have flashbacks or completely shut down if reprimanded.

“Emma, one more store and then home, okay?” Regina proposed. She suspected she knew what would lift Emma’s morose mood now.

Emma sank into the seat and scowled even deeper if that was at all possible. Regina pulled up to one last store and opened Emma’s door. Emma was slow to get out and her shoulders slumped.

“Come along, Emma,” Regina called. She doubted she had said the words “come along” so often in her life, but they worked with Emma, so she was stuck with the phrase for now.

The child dragged her feet behind her, but she followed. She paused at the window display of a toy store. A large, dancing teddy bear and an elaborate toy train displayed front and center. Big, green eyes coveted these items. Emma looked on, like a starving person, who stood before a banquet just out of reach.

“Emma,” Regina said with a little snap to her tone, just wanting the girl’s attention.

“Huh?” Emma said, not turning to look.

“Emma, the correct response is ‘yes’ not ‘huh.’ Is that understood?” Regina inquired.

The scowl became a little deeper. “Yes.”

“Now, come along,” Regina ordered, holding open a door.

Emma dragged her feet again, but somehow made it seem like she was stomping at the same time. A gasp escaped her as soon as she entered the store, having no idea it was a toy store. Regina smiled.

“Now, don’t get carried away while you’re in here,” Regina said.

Emma seemed to understand that well enough, staring up at Regina with wide, bright eyes before she rushed off, but Regina noticed Emma kept her in her sights. Those green eyes glanced at Regina every few seconds, like she needed to make sure Regina was still there. Regina hated to think that sometime in Emma’s short life she had been abandoned somewhere, beyond the group house anyway. Eventually, the glitz and glimmer of the store captured Emma and she touched everything, but did not keep a hold on a single toy. Regina strolled up behind her.

“Why don’t you pick something out?” Regina whispered into her ear, causing Emma to jump.

Emma spun around and narrowed her gaze on Regina. “Really?” her voice cracked.

“Yes. No sense in coming to a store and not buy anything, correct?”

Emma seemed to think on it and then she rushed off. Regina half-expected the child to come back carrying a kitchen set considering how much she liked to eat, but instead, she returned holding an electronic dog. Emma held it up like it was the best thing she had ever held. Regina nodded and Emma hugged the toy to her chest. On the way to the counter, Regina grabbed a small plush duck, hiding it from Emma’s view. It would be a nice surprise for later.

After that, they went home. Emma charged into the house, her toy in hand. Regina carried in Emma’s clothing; the food could wait. She stopped Emma before the child got out of the foyer.

“Emma, shoes,” Regina called.

Emma paused and looked down. “Huh?” Regina narrowed her gaze and Emma straightened a little. “I mean, yes?”

“Remove your shoes.”

Emma nodded and she kicked her shoes off. She was about to run off until she saw Regina eyeing the shoes. She knew to fix them and placed them in a row, next to a couple other sets of shoes. Once Regina smiled, Emma trotted off to the living room. _She can be trained_. _Perhaps I’ll try this on the idiot adult version when she returns_.

“I can open it, right?” Emma asked, holding her toy up.

“Yes, of course.”

Emma grinned and opened the dog, which let out a mechanical bark as soon as it was free. Emma went to throw out the box without having to be told and then returned immediately to playing with the barking dog. It had a remote, so Emma could control where the dog walked and when it barked. She could also make it sit and wag its tail.

Regina put away the clothes and hid away the duck plush toy while Emma entertained herself with her toy. By the time Regina put everything in its place, Emma was clearly running on fumes. Regina sat down on the sofa with a book and Emma ended up leaning against her. Regina read out loud until Emma was asleep in her lap. Regina continued reading, enjoying the quiet time.

An hour passed before they were disturbed by a knock at the door. Emma perked up, her hair wild and the pattern from Regina’s shirt was pressed into her face. Regina patted the child’s back, getting her to move enough for Regina to go answer the door. Emma followed behind her, which Regina tried very hard not to think of cute.

Before Regina could open the door, a key let her know who it was. The door flung open and there was Henry. He grinned at her and threw himself into her arms. Regina practically sobbed as she held him, pressed him tightly to him, inhaling her beautiful, almost grown son. How she missed him.

“Mom!” Henry laughed as he lifted her up, obviously enjoying this growth spurt.

Regina laughed as well, even though it hurt a little to know soon her little boy would soon be taller than she was. Caressing his cheek, she stared into his eyes, seeing flecks of green in a sea of cocoa. She could see Emma’s eyes there for the first time. Glancing down at the thought, she saw Emma had her arms folded over her tiny chest and a tight scowl in place and hatred in her gaze.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Regina deals with two kids in the house while Emma shuts down.


	2. Learning curve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters. I also don’t own Horton Hears a Who.

2: Learning curve

Henry’s arrival marked a shift in Emma almost immediately. She withdrew before he even got his shoes off, retreating to the living room. Henry watched her go with a slight puzzled wrinkle to his brow while Regina knew she would already find out the trouble of having two children.

“What’s up with Emma?” Henry asked, putting a book bag down by the stairs.

 _Sibling rivalry_ , Regina thought to amuse herself. “We weren’t expecting you so soon.” It had not occurred to her to discuss his arrival with Emma, but this was a big change in the environment for her and Emma had already shown signs of trauma from that.

Henry grinned. “Came right over after getting registered at school. They let me stay the whole day.” His eyes practically sparkled with joy.

Regina chuckled. She could not believe he was so enthused to go to school. It showed that he was just happy to be home. She was happy as well, pulling him into a light hug just because she could. He hugged her back without question. 

“Well, come on in. I’ll start dinner soon. I’m also going to make a cake,” Regina told him.

“Oh, cake! I got here just in time,” he remarked, rubbing his hands together.

She smirked, amused. “I’m sure the cake makes it all worth it.”

Henry smiled and nodded. “The way you make it makes it all worth it.” He then grabbed Regina into a tight hug.

A low yelp escaped Regina before she returned the embrace. Joy flooded her and it took all of her self-control to keep from crying. He gave her another smile as he stepped away. Grabbing his bag, he wasted no time stomping up to his room. The noise snapped Regina out of her brief fog of happiness. Regina groaned, obviously the year with Emma had done nothing about his clomping about places like a workhorse.

“Henry,” Regina called.

“Sorry!” he shouted back, already upstairs.

Regina sighed and shook her head. She went into the living room and found Emma sitting on the floor with her toy dog. Her shoulders were slumped and her scowl remained. Regina leaned down, placing her hand on Emma’s back and Emma shrugged it off.

“What’s wrong, sweetling?” Regina asked softly.

“Nuthin’,” Emma answered, not bothering to look at Regina now.

“You know you can tell me.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure that’s your best move? To not tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” Emma repeated in a hard tone.

Regina sighed, but did not press Emma. She would figure things out soon enough. She knew this mood had to do with Henry, but she was not sure why exactly. It would not remain a mystery for long.

When dinner was served, Emma merely pushed around the food. Regina watched her, but also watched Henry, who had two helpings. He smiled all the way through, missing her cooking according to him. Emma seemed to get more and more withdrawn, hunch over in her seat, scowling at her plate as she played with her food. Eventually, she slid out of the chair. Regina had enough.

“Excuse me, Emma, but where do you think you’re going?” Regina inquired with just a little stone in her voice. She wanted Emma to pause, which worked.

“Not hungry.” Emma pouted.

“Emma, the last time you ate was six hours ago, not counting your snack. I’m sure you are hungry, so sit back down,” Regina ordered. Her tone was not hard, but it carried the message that this was not a choice. Emma got the message.

“It’s really good,” Henry said, taking a big forkful.

Regina smiled in appreciation, pleased that Henry wanted to help. Emma was not moved, though. She sulked, frowning at her plate even more than before.

“Come on, Emma. If you eat it, there’s cake waiting,” Henry told her with a grin. Emma was still not convinced. Henry sighed, his shoulders slumping a bit.

“So, Henry, how was your day?” Regina asked, wanting to know everything he had been up since they last saw each other. She consciously did not think of the last place they saw each other or she would think of Sheriff Swan and just how much that woman would rue the day she ruined Regina’s life… as soon as she was an adult again.

“Besides the usual weirdness, normal. I think we still have to go back to New York to get me off the school roster, though.” Suddenly, he frowned. “Do you think this’ll make _her_ want to move back to New York?”

A frown settled on Regina’s face. She had not thought of that. Surely, when Emma returned to normal, the idea that she could even be turned into a child would bother her. Not to mention, her parents leaving her with Regina and Regina taking care of her. _Well, it’ll be an extremely cold day in Hell before I let her take Henry from me again_.

“I got a puppy today!” Emma suddenly chimed in, disrupting Regina’s thoughts.

“A puppy?” Henry turned to his mother and gave her quite the surprising glare. “She got a puppy?” He seemed just a little angry and shocked, obviously thinking Emma had gotten something he had pestered her about since he learned to speak. He clearly never got his way on the issue.

“It’s just a toy,” Regina assured him, waving the whole thing off. Emma would only be like this for a short while and Regina had no intention of caring for a live puppy once Emma was grown again. She doubted Emma would care for a puppy either.

“It barks and walks and her name is Princess!” Emma insisted.

That was the first Regina had ever heard the name and it made Henry’s eyes brows crawl up his forehead. Regina wondered how many times this small child wished she was some fairy tale princess and for someone to rescue her. _For some people, it will always be a fairy tale. Even a princess_. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. She tried to cover it up by eating some of her dinner.

“That’s nice. Did Mom buy it for you?” Henry asked with a kind smile.

For some reason, this made Emma shut down. She went back to frowning at her potatoes. Henry stared at her, perplexed for several seconds, before going back to eating. Regina knew Henry felt slighted, his eyes shattered and his mouth turned down.

“Henry, you should know this isn’t _her_ ,” Regina said. She did not want him to think his other mother was rejecting him in any way. This Emma was not _his_ Emma.

“I know,” he replied, but his face remained dejected. Silence reigned over the room as he and Regina continued eating. Emma made a show of poking things with her fork.

“Can I be ‘cused?” Emma mumbled after a little while.

“You haven’t touched your food,” Regina replied. The girl had to be hungry. She already ate like she had a hollow leg, devouring her lunch like she expected it to run off the plate.

“Not hungry,” Emma insisted.

“Emma,” Regina said in a stern tone.

“Come on, Emma. It’s really good.” Henry grinned as he ate another bite.

Emma gave him a look of pure venom and then pushed away from the table. She almost tripped as she ran off. Regina quickly went after the child, holding her hand up as she left the dining room to let Henry know he did not need to move. He frowned a bit, but stayed where he was.

“Emma, where do you think you’re going?” Regina demanded as the blonde grabbed her toy and kept marching toward the foyer, her little feet making big noises against the floor. She ignored Regina. “Emma.” Her tone was hard, perhaps harder than necessary.

The child kept moving until she was at the front door, trying to open it. She could not reach the top lock, so she was out of luck. Regina was happy that Henry remembered to lock the top lock for possibly the first time in the history of history. Grunting, Emma yanked on the door, twisting the knot, but getting nowhere. Emma whined and turned, probably planning to take off again, but Regina blocked her path. Emma tried to go around her, but she moved with the child.

“Emma,” Regina repeated the same once more.

“Move,” Emma hissed. Her eyes remained on the floor.

“I will not and you will tell me what is going on,” Regina stated.

“No!”

Regina frowned and took a small step closer to the child. Emma flinched and almost fell back in her retreat. Internally, Regina winced. While it was not proof positive of physical abuse, it showed at some point in her short years, Emma had at the very least been scared into thinking adults would be violent with her. Regina leaned down to Emma’s height.

“Emma,” she said softly. “Talk to me. Make a good move.”

“No! I don’t wanna! I don’t like you anymore!” Emma declared, glaring at the former queen.

Inside, Regina’s stomach cramped and a nerve ripped raw. Emma’s words should not have hurt the way they did, but they did. Still, she swallowed it. Six-year-old Emma had no idea what she was saying and just lashed out in order to protect her. It was understandable.

“And why don’t you like me? What have I done?” Regina managed to ask. She resisted the urge to do what her mother would have done, which was inform the child that if she did not like her now, then she would utterly despise her in a few minutes. Within that few minutes, Mother had always been right.

Emma growled and pointed at Regina as if striking her down. Thankfully, there was no fire, brimstone, or lightning with the pointing. “You don’t like me anymore because your _real_ son’s here and you’re gonna send me back, just like always!” Her face turned a bright red as tears gathered in her eyes. She clinched her fists very tightly and Regina feared she might hurt herself.

Regina’s stomach twisted and she exhaled through her nose. _Patience_. “Emma, I told you, I’m not going to let you go. Have I done anything that leads you to believe I’d ask you to leave?” She was impressed with herself in keeping her voice even and calm.

Shattered green eyes glared at her, challenging her, pleading with her. “You want him, right? So, you don’t want me.”

“Sweetling, it doesn’t work that way.” Regina felt another internal twitch, thinking of her poor sister. For some people, it did work that way. “ _I_ don’t work that way. Just because Henry is here doesn’t mean you have to leave. I’m not going to make you leave.”

“You want him,” Emma grumbled, pouting and stared at her feet. Her hands shook and she clenched and unclenched them, as if trying to keep control of herself.

“I want you, too, though.” Regina caressed Emma’s head and the child did not pull away. She smiled a little since Emma did not seem as upset anymore.

“No…” Emma whimpered and shook her head. “No one wants me.”

“I do. I want you.” Regina pulled the girl for a hug, but Emma pushed away. The little girl kept her gaze on the floor, though. It was almost as if she was fighting against her “superpower.”

“No, you don’t. It’s a trick.”

“No, it’s not a trick. Would I have bought you those clothes only to spend you away? Would I have brought you back home? Would I have made that cake especially for you?” Regina asked. If memory served her correctly, a six-year-old could not be reasoned with, but questions slowed them down enough to let their emotions calm down.

Emma only frowned. Regina did not expect her to have an answer. Reaching out, Regina ran a finger down Emma’s cheek. Emma kept her head down, but Regina could see green eyes looking at her from under thick eyelashes.

“I wouldn’t have gotten you your puppy if I was going to send you back. Now, I know you’re not hungry, but do you think you could go back to the table and just eat a little bit? For me? After that, you can have some cake and watch some cartoons. All right?”

Emma ground her teeth together while wiggling a bit. Regina could hear her mother in the back of her head, _a lady doesn’t grind her teeth… A lady stands up straight_. Regina wanted to correct Emma’s behavior, but she knew if she did, the child would go right back to trying to leave or worse curl into herself even more so than she had done at dinner.

Waiting a few long seconds, Emma barely nodded before moving off, going back to the dining room. She dropped her puppy back to the couch on her way and went back to the table. She glared daggers at Henry as she climbed back into her chair, which was funny to watch since she was so short. Regina returned to her space and their dinner was quiet with lots of tension thanks to Emma’s attitude.

For a while, Henry pushed around his food, probably uncomfortable with Emma. Eventually, he finished his food, though. Emma ate, but not quite the way she had done earlier. She had small bites and the food was cold by the time she finished.

True to her word, Regina let Emma have a small slice of cake, which got a frown until Emma bit into it. It was amusing to watch her eyes light up for a moment before she remembered she was supposed to be upset. While she did not frown while eating it, Emma tried to glare at the cake while devouring it.

The child then got to watch cartoons after dinner. Only for an hour, but after that, it was time for Emma to get bathed. Emma’s brow furrowed, but she did not say anything as Regina put water and bubbles in the tub. Regina then inspected Emma’s head again and figured she should wash the child’s hair.

“Emma, do you mind if I shampoo your hair?” Regina inquired. She did not want to go beyond any of Emma’s personal boundaries.

Emma tugged on one golden lock. “Uh… you don’t hafta. It’s okay.”

“Your scalp is looking a bit oily,” Regina replied. She imagined if she did not wash it today, she would definitely have to do it tomorrow.

At those words, Emma scratched her head. Regina doubted Emma had any real problems with her scalp, but she felt like it probably had been a problem for Emma in the past. Regina got the shampoo and conditioner.

“You’ll like it,” Regina promised.

Emma stared at her, scratching her head again. “Uh… okay…”

It was not a ringing endorsement, but Regina got to work. Emma sat perfectly still in the tub, even when Regina rinsed her, getting water in her face. When she noticed Emma rubbing her eyes, she wiped her face with a nearby towel. Once she pulled Emma out of the tub, she blow-dried Emma’s hair before they retired to the guest room.

“I’m going to brush your hair, all right? I just want to make sure you don’t get any tangles,” Regina said.

Emma simply nodded. Dressing Emma in some plain pajamas brought earlier from their shopping trip since Emma had torn the other pair, Regina sat Emma at the vanity, leaving Emma looking into the mirror as she brushed her hair. Regina found brushing the blond locks to be soothing, but also learned Emma’s hair was not particularly cared for and she knew this was at odds with the adult version. So, along with the clearly malnourished body, but she had a poorly cared for hair. _Who are these people who take in a child, do nothing for her but leave mental scars, and then abandon her to the wind?_

While Henry had been difficult to deal with when he first came into her life, Regina had done had best to care of him. Yes, his crying had driven her crazy, but she had never neglected him. In fact, she tried to indulge him in everything with the hope he would stop crying, and that was before she tried to take him back. After, she had made sure he never wanted for anything… except the truth when he got older anyway.

Regina shook away her thoughts as she felt Emma squirming in her seat. Hair care time was over, but Emma stared at herself in the mirror for a few seconds. Emma silently slipped off of the seat and climbed into bed on her own. Regina figured she would try to read Emma some stories. They might help keep the nightmares away.

“Stories are for babies,” Emma grumbled as she settled into bed. She pulled Princess close to her chest.

“I know, but this little fellow…” Regina produced the plush duckie she bought from the toy store. “He loves a story before bed and he was hoping I’d read one to you both, so he can fall asleep.”

Emma’s eyes did not leave the toy. “Where’d you get him?”

“I think he flew in the window when we cleared the table.” Regina held him to her ear and pretended to listen for a moment. “He wants to know if he can make a nest here to get some sleep?”

Emma nodded eagerly and Regina smiled. She made an impression on the pillow and placed the doll on Emma’s shoulder. Emma made sure the blanket covered him while Regina settled on the bed. Emma curled up close to her. Regina had a full collection of Doctor Seuss books from when Henry was a small child. While the words and rhymes often seemed like nonsense, she enjoyed the lessons the books taught and appreciated the fact that she had not lived through any of the tales or managed to ruin any Seuss characters lives. Of course, it helped that they did not exist.

“I like _The Cat in the Hat_ ,” Emma said, probably recognizing the artwork as Regina opened the book.

Regina smiled, even though she disliked _The_ _Cat in the Hat_ with an intensity that she knew was not healthy. She felt like he set a horrible example and let children think it was all right to let strangers in the house. That was not the storybook she held, but she had a feeling if anyone had ever read to the child, it was probably the most well known Seuss story of them all. But, there were better ones.

“How about _Horton Hears a Who_?” Regina suggested as she flipped the book open. She much preferred this tale. It made her feel nostalgic for reasons she did not want to acknowledge. Once upon a time, she would have been Horton, a foolish teenager protecting and saving smaller souls. Plus, this had been one of Henry’s favorites.

As she read the story, Regina paused, hoping to give Emma a chance to read along. At six, Henry had been able to recognize words and sound some of the smaller ones out. Emma was not so advanced… or fortunate, as it could have easily been nurture or nature with her. Regina felt a twinge, certain no one had taken the time to read to little Emma in a long time. But, Emma hung onto her every word throughout the tale, gasping and scared for the little whos as they were almost boiled alive by the disbelieving denizens of the jungle.

“A person’s a person…” Emma yawned.

“No matter how small,” Regina finished and kissed the top of Emma’s head before she remembered just who this little person was. When Emma sighed and smiled a bit, Regina decided it did not matter who she was.

“I’m… person… right… Regina?” Emma inhaled deeply.

“Of course you are, sweetling. You are a person.” It was so easy to forget this was Emma Swan, thorn in her side, and feel so much pain for this little girl. She wondered if Evelyn had a point. Maybe this was just the mother in her, the mother she always wanted to be. Maybe.

Emma fought to keep her eyes open, but she was losing the battle. “I think Duckie wants another story.”

“Duckie?” Regina echoed in a low tone.

“Yeah. He’s Duckie.” Emma patted the toy’s chest. “He whispered to me.”

Regina chuckled and moved onto the next story. Emma clutched her arm as she waited to find out who would win the war in buttering their toast. _She’s so cute_. Regina could not understand how at this age, Emma had already been turned away by three families. If this child had been given to her, she would have made sure Emma was treated like a princess.

By the end of the story, Emma was sound asleep. Regina made sure she was covered properly. Henry poked his head in and leaned against the doorjamb as she worked. He grinned at her when she was done.

“She’s cute,” Henry chuckled.

“Maybe when she’s sleeping,” Regina said.

He laughed more. “You know you think she’s cute.” He smirked like he had her, but before she could respond, his face sobered up a bit. “Is she okay?”

Regina shrugged. “As okay as a six-year-old can be in a new home.”

Henry nodded, but a small frown marred his features. “She’s kinda… small for six, right?”

“Children come in all shapes and sizes, Henry. Now, we should leave before we disturb her sleep.”

He nodded again and they returned to the living room. Henry hooked up his dusty gaming system and turned it on while she curled up with a book. He sat very close to her on the sofa and she smiled to herself.

“I missed you, Mom,” he repeated, staring at her instead of the television screen.

Smiling, she turned to him. “I missed you, too.”

“You kept my games.”

She arched an eyebrow, finding that to be an odd thing to point out. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Henry shrugged. “I dunno… I just… I thought you’d forget about me. When we left, that was the last thing that went through my mind before everything changed. ‘I was so mean and stupid. Mom’s gonna forget me, be happy to get rid of me.’ And then everything was gone, but I still felt it in my heart.” He rubbed his chest while looking like he might throw up.

Reaching over, Regina put her hand on his wrist. “I could never forget you, Henry. You’re my little prince. My Happily Ever After,” she replied. And it was enough. She knew that now.

Forget Robin Hood. This, a night on the couch with her son, was enough. She should stop yearning for more. After all, look where yearning got her, her mother, and her sister. Clearly, the Mills’ woman (or whatever Zelena’s surname was) needed to appreciate the little things. She had been able to do that once, before all of this started and she had been much happier.

Regina wasted no time giving her son a hug and he hugged her back. Then, he went back to his game. She pretended to read, but instead, watched him. He was as intense as ever when it came to his games, maybe a little more than before.

“Is this what you did in New York?” Regina asked curiously.

“Yeah, but Mom played with me. I mean, Emma.” Henry shook his head and scratched his head. “It’s hard to keep track of stuff sometimes now.”

“I’m sorry about that, Henry.”

Turning, he stared at her as if she had grown a second head. “Why? You set us up really nice, Mom. I’m glad you did. My memories weren’t even that different, just Emma instead of you. It made me think about… the good times we had. The times I pretended didn’t happen or didn’t mean anything. They meant a lot.”

A lump rose in Regina’s throat. “That means… so much to me, Henry.” He was so mature now.

Henry grinned. “Well, good, because I think I’m gonna keep you this time.”

Regina laughed. He had learned to downplay things with a joke over the past year. If played right, she would enjoy it. Of course, he could have turned into a male version of Emma this year and he would now annoy her for the rest of her life. But, she would take it if it meant having Henry in her life for the rest of her life.

“So, how was it taking care of Emma for the day? Did she set anything on fire? The lights sparked when you chased her to the door,” Henry said.

“It’s as one would expect with a six-year-old along with the occasional sparks. She’s been fine, though.” It was the truth.

Nodding, his face scrunched up a little in thought. “Do you think she’ll be okay in a few days like Mr. Gold said?”

“He’s usually right about these things. If he says a few days, then it will probably be that. I’m surprised your grandparents didn’t take her to the Blue Fairy first.” She doubted Blue could have ruined the situation any further, especially since Emma was already a little kid.

For some reason, this made Henry laugh. “They tried. She was so scared of the Blue Fairy. She literally ran away screaming.”

Regina did not find this as funny as she would have had it been any other child. Emma being afraid of the Blue Fairy made her think of the accidents, of Emma flinching, and of Emma having a nightmare last night. Someone, or several someones, had hurt that child. Did they look like Blue in someway?

“I’m glad you’re taking care of her,” Henry said out of the blue.

“Someone has to,” Regina replied, deciding not to add anything like, “it’s not like her parents are reliable or intelligent enough to do so.” Henry would fail to see the humor there. “She didn’t scare you, did she? When she set the kitchen on fire?”

Henry scoffed. “It was just the stove. The stove is supposed to be on fire, anyway.”

Regina had a feeling Henry downplayed what happened. “David also mentioned she blew up the sink.”

Rolling his eyes, Henry scoffed again. “You know… they were gonna leave her with Ruby.”

An elegant eyebrow craned. “They were?” She should have known she was not the first choice, even if David tried to make it seem like she was the only option. Of course they had exhausted all other options before coming to her.

“Yeah, I told them they should take her to you. I mean, I like Ruby and all, but what does she know about taking care of a six-year-old? Plus, what’s Emma gonna do, sit at a table while Ruby waits on customers? She’d throw a huge tantrum over that, I bet.”

Regina smiled. It was always nice to see the “idiot” gene either skipped a generation or had been nurtured right the hell out of him. Of course, she wished he would not volunteer her for things. She was supposed to be upset with Emma, after all.

“I knew you’d take care of her until she was back to normal, even if you are mad at her,” Henry pointed out.

Regina sighed, upset that he was right for some reason. She was furious with Emma, but here she was buying her clothes and toys just because she was in pint-sized form. It was impossible to angry with Emma when she was three feet tall and cuddled up to a plush duck in the guest room. She tried not to dwell on it.

“Besides, it’s not like they could leave her with Hook,” Henry remarked, rolling his eyes again.

Regina snickered just a bit. “You are right about that.”

“Yeah, so I said they should take her to you and Grams agreed. You were the right choice,” he said proudly, puffing out his chest a bit.

Regina let him have his moment. Besides, it was not like she could or had contradicted him. She had taken care of mini-Emma to the best of her abilities and would like to think she had done well on her first day.

A couple of hours later, Henry was showered and back in his old room while Regina locked up. She was about to go to bed, but she heard Emma cry out. Rushing to the girl’s room, she found her in the throngs of another nightmare. Just like before, she held the child until she calmed down. It took just as long that night as the previous one. Thankfully, no clothing was ripped.

Once Regina was able to go to sleep, she collapsed into bed. _I forgot how tiring this was_. And yet, she loved every second of it. _There’s something wrong with me_.

-8-8-8-8-

The next day, Regina made breakfast for everyone. Emma seemed better on eating now than last night. She ate just as many pancakes as Henry.

“Can I has more cake, too?” Emma requested with syrup all over her mouth.

“Cake is not a breakfast food,” Regina replied and wiped Emma’s face with a wet napkin. Surprisingly, Emma sat still for it. Earlier Emma had also sat still to have her hair brushed after she woke up.

“It could be,” Henry said with a grin.

“But, it’s not, nor will it be while you will with me. Now, run along while I clear the table,” Regina ordered. Neither of the children went anywhere, though.

Henry grabbed a few plates and Emma sort of followed his lead, so they ended up clearing the table for her. While Regina did the dishes, the pair disappeared into the living room. Regina listened out for any commotion and also tried to think of something to do with both of them, especially when they ended up back in the kitchen, watching her wash dishes.

It was Saturday, so none of them had anywhere to be. Henry and Emma did not seem to want to stray far from Regina, not even to watch television. Regina decided to take them all to the movies, even though she was not one for the “theater” unless it was actual theater.

“The movies? Can we see any movie we watch?” Henry asked eagerly.

“We will see a PG movie. I’m sure there’s one that will suit your tastes,” Regina answered.

“Aw, man!” Henry pouted.

Regina suspected Emma used to let him watch at least PG-13 films and maybe he was even mature enough to handle that now, but they had a six-year-old with them. Despite his moping, when they got to the theater, there was a movie he wanted to see. Emma seemed pleased with just being included.

Both children enjoyed themselves, especially when Emma found out she could take Duckie, who apparently loved going outside. They got popcorn. Henry was allowed soda while Emma got some sugary, syrup thing that the concession stand claimed was fruit punch. Regina doubted the drink had ever been in the same room as a fruit. Other junk food was involved, but Regina chalked it all up to being a treat, so it was fine.

By the end of the movie, both children were happy and hyper, which was enough to keep Regina from wandering what the hell they just watched for almost two hours. Emma had a ring of chocolate around her mouth from candy and Henry had crumbles on his shirt from nachos. _Maybe I can pretend they’re not with me_. She doubted it would work.

“Look at both of you,” Regina sighed, pausing to brush Henry’s shirt off. She then produced a tissue from her pocketbook, knowing she needed to have plenty of it with a six-year-old in her care, and wiped Emma’s mouth.

Suddenly, hip-hop music chimed from Henry’s pocket and he pulled out a cell phone. Regina was not surprised he owned one. It seemed like something Emma would do, if only to keep tabs on him. She did not disagree with the move, especially since he had once run away to Boston.

“It’s Gramps and Grams. They wanna know how Emma’s doing,” Henry reported and he leaned down to put the phone to Emma’s ear.

Emma pulled away and pushed his hand away. She ducked behind Regina and looked up at her, as if needing to check with Regina that everything was safe. _God, really, why the hell can’t the adult Emma be like this? Being cautious and checking to make sure things are right. Is that too much to ask?_

“She’s not coming to the phone,” Henry reported to his grandparents.

“Sweetling, you don’t want to talk to your parents?” Regina asked, rubbing the child’s shoulder.

Emma scowled. “Don’t got parents.”

Henry winced. He dared not say that to his grandparents. Instead, he muttered a bunch of excuses and then hurried off the phone. Regina kept her eyes on Emma, wanting to make sure the child did not do anything silly, or worse, throw a tantrum.

“They’re walking by the docks and want to know if we’ll come, so they can see Emma,” he told her.

Regina looked down at Emma and thought about how David had just left her the other night. Left her like three other fathers had already done in her six-year-old mind. She doubted Emma would be happy to see them again so soon.

Regina bent down to Emma’s level. “You remember David, the man who dropped you off, right?”

The frown deepened. “Yeah.”

“He and his wife want to see you.”

“Why?” she practically snarled. “They gave me away!” People looked on, as if they expected the Evil Queen to return and gut the child. Glazes shifted for a moment when sparks flew off the power lines.

Regina ignored the sparks, focusing solely on the upset girl in front of her. “Yes, I know, sweetling, but they still want to see you.”

Emma sighed and flung herself onto Regina. “You’re not gonna gimme back, right?” She held on so tight and Regina could hardly understand what she felt holding Emma. She wanted to burst into tears and she hated that.

Regina put an arm loosely around Emma’s back. “No, of course not. You’ll come home with me and Henry.”

Sniffling a bit, Emma pulled away just enough to look Regina in the face. “And… you’ll brush my hair again?”

Regina smiled a little. “Of course I will. We don’t want you to have tangles in this beautiful hair.” She ran her fingers through the straight blonde locks, which Regina had tied with ribbons from their shopping trip yesterday.

Studying Regina intensely, Emma nodded. “You’ll read to Duckie tonight?”

Regina smiled more. “Of course. Duckie can’t sleep without those stories, right?”

“And… I can hold Duckie?”

Regina nodded and pulled Duckie from her pocketbook. She figured she would need to get used to carrying her larger purses while Emma was around. Again, she knew this from experience. When Henry was six, her pocketbook might as well have been his backpack. Emma hugged Duckie to her chest for the whole ride and did not release him, even when she took Regina’s hand when they arrived at the pier.

They ran into David and Snow almost immediately. Baby Neal was tucked away in a stroller, donated by Regina from when Henry was a baby. She figured since the Charmings had been somewhat allies in the Enchanted Forest, she might as well keep the olive branch extended. Of course, had she known they would dump their traumatized daughter on her doorstep while she was still incredibly pissed at the aforementioned daughter, she might have reconsidered.

“Hey, Emma!” Snow grinned. Her eyes seemed to shine the second they landed on her daughter.

Regina almost felt sorry for Snow when Emma squeezed her hand tighter and tucked in a little closer, hiding from the shorthaired woman. Snow frowned, her forehead creasing while her eyes shattered. _Had I been cleverer, I would have adopted Emma thirty years ago, not that Snow would have understood the taunt_.

“Emma, how have you been?” Snow asked, trying so hard to recover her dignity, but it was over before it began. Her voice cracked and she swallowed so desperately at the end of the question, they could her throat move.

“Fine,” Emma grumbled, eyes on her boots. She practically leaned against Regina as Snow and David got closer. The couple tensed and halted almost a full foot away from them.

“Emma, don’t you want to see your little brother?” David asked, patting the top of the stroller.

Emma remained right where she was. Henry crouched down and rubbed her shoulder. Emma was not comforted by this and basically hid behind Regina, literally clutching her skirt. A gull cawed in the distance, possibly commenting on how awkward this was. It took all of Regina’s willpower to not laugh.

“Um… how about we walk for a bit? Neal likes the sea air. It helps him sleep,” Snow explained, not knowing where to look.

“It smells,” Emma grumbled with a frown. “Like fish.”

Regina groaned. _Gods, they’ll think I’ve corrupted her already_. And from the way the parents looked at her, she knew she was not far off. Heaven forbid their little angel was far from perfect. But, of course, this is probably why they could not handle Emma in the first place. She was not perfect and the holy couple probably could not understand how their offspring was not automatically a brilliant, beaming bastion of infallible light and goodness. The thought made Regina want to vomit.

“I’m hungry,” Emma said out of the blue. It was hard to believe considering all of the junk Regina had allowed her and Henry to have at the movies.

“We could all go to Granny’s,” Snow volunteered in a hopeful tone.

Henry actually looked green at the suggestion of more fast food. “I’ll pass.”

Regina smiled and this led her to believe that his year with Emma had not been all fast food, video games, and clomping about the house. She would have to catch up with him to be sure. _Maybe Emma made good on the memories I left her with_.

“There’s lunch at home,” Emma said in a hard voice.

Dear God, Regina’s body actually warmed at little Emma calling her house “home.” _Maybe it’s my biological clock. Hell, maybe that’s even why I was attracted to Robin. He had a child I could mother to someone else_. Mothering was the one thing Regina excelled at without people having to die, after all. Of course, she had been a fairly good queen, murder notwithstanding.

“Emma, your parents want to see you,” Regina pointed out. This only made Emma scowl harder. Regina made a mental note not to use the word “parents” anymore.

“But, I’m hungry,” Emma said, yanking her hand away. She stomped her foot. “Last night, you made me eat when I wasn’t hungry and now I am hungry and you won’t take me home!” The waves went from gentle to crashing suddenly.

Regina watched as David and Snow backed away, retreating from the nearby ocean and the entire scene. _Cowards_. Sighing, Regina bent down to Emma’s level.

“Now, you listen to me, sweetling, if you’re hungry, we will go home and eat, but you just ate. I don’t want to overfeed you and have you get sick. Do you understand?” Regina asked in a firm tone.

Emma pouted. “Yes.”

“Now, are you really hungry or do you just want to go home? Be honest.”

Sighing heavily, Emma toed the ground, scuffing her beautiful black boots. Emma was lucky she was not truly Regina’s daughter or she would have been thoroughly reprimanded over the boots. For now, Regina would stick with the tantrum and quell that.

“Tell me, Emma. Remember, your best move,” Regina said. She glanced at the Charmings, who looked upset and confused, all frowns and bent eyebrows.

“I wanna go home,” Emma mumbled. The seas settled behind them.

“All right. From now on, whenever you want something, you have to say it like a big girl. If you lie and stomp your feet and shout, you won’t get anything. I won’t remind you about what’s a good move anymore,” Regina informed her.

Emma nodded. “I’ll do good moves.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Regina climbed to her proper height and Emma took her hand. Regina turned to the Charmings, finding Snow looked a cross between frightened and sorrowful. Regina knew all too well how much it hurt to see another woman bonding with your child. She felt some sympathy for her former foe, but no much. Snow brought this one herself by sending Emma away.

“I’m going to take her back to the house. She’s probably tired from all of the excitement at the movies,” Regina replied, adding that if only to soothe some of the hurt feelings. Emma clearly could care less, tugging on Regina’s hand slightly in the direction of the car.

“Of course,” Snow managed to mutter.

“Uh… I think I’ll stick around for a while. You know, spend time with my uncle and everything,” Henry said with a forced smile.

“As long as David has no problem with dropping you off,” Regina replied. He was more than likely sticking around to do damage control.

David nodded, speechless apparently. Regina wished the shepherd suffered from aphasia more often. She decided to leave at that moment, Emma right with her, holding her hand as if they were melded together. In the car, Emma clutched Duckie to her chest, occasionally pressing him to her ear, like he was whispering to her.

“Do you want to share what Duckie’s talking about?” Regina asked.

Emma looked out of the window. “Duckie doesn’t like them. He doesn’t want to see them again.”

“Duckie is making a rather hasty decision. Duckie doesn’t even know them.”

“Duckie knows they throw people away. A person is a person, no matter how small. You can’t just throw people away.”

Regina could not argue that. Besides, it was cute to see Emma taking away a lesson from _Horton Hears a Who_. She decided not to press the issue. The Charmings were not her concern while little Emma was. If she did not want to suffer their presences, Regina would not force her. Besides, it was only going to be for a week.

Once in the house, Regina put on some cartoons for Emma, making sure they were educational. There was a chance it might stick and Emma would be less stupid as an adult when she changed back. Regina also went and found some Henry’s old educational material. She wanted Emma to practice her counting as she felt it was a shame for a child to not be able to properly count her age. Even at two, Henry knew how many fingers to hold up.

“All right, Emma, that’s enough television,” Regina said, turning the TV off.

“But, I wanna watch!” Emma groaned.

“You can later. For now, I want you to practice writing your alphabet and numbers. After, we’ll have some lunch.” Regina placed the book on the coffee table for Emma to trace her letters and numbers and also lines for her to write them on her own.

Emma pouted. “Don’t need this stuff.”

“Yes, you do. Now, you can do this and then you can have some lunch.” Regina hoped she did not have to take things further than a firm tone because she would, Emma’s trauma be damned. This child was going to learn something while she was with Regina.

Emma did not stop pouting, but she began working. She needed a lot of help. Regina wondered about Emma’s schooling. It was clear someone had already dropped the ball and the girl was only six. Regina imagined it only got worse as she got older, so perhaps it was actually a miracle Emma was as intelligent as she was. _Which is sad, but all and all par for the course considering her lineage_.

Once Emma made it through a couple of pages, Regina rewarded her with lunch of peanut butter and jelly rolls. She had not prepared them for Henry when he was younger, not knowing about them. But, she had done it once for Roland, who thought it was weird. He had never seen sushi before, so he did not get it, but Emma seemed to understand, especially when Regina gave her chopsticks with them. Regina had to modify the chopsticks a bit, holding them together with a rubber band and a bit of bent cardboard between them, which did not help.

“I can’t use these stupid things!” Emma complained, trying to work the chopsticks. One fell, clattering on the table.

Regina smiled and quickly repaired Emma’s set of chopsticks. “Emma, be patient. Watch me.”

Regina took her own chopsticks and showed Emma how to use them. Emma paid close attention and after a few minutes with Regina’s guiding hand correcting her, she was able to use the chopsticks. She grinned.

“Look, I did it!” Emma showed Regina the peanut butter and jelly roll as she held it with the chopsticks.

Regina smiled. “I knew you could. You just have to be patient.”

Emma nodded and had a good time eating her lunch. She seemed very content, maybe even happy. Regina tried not to think about how she felt, but a warm feeling coursed through her as she took care of little Emma. _It has to be my biological clock_.

-8-8-8-8-

Emma had silently declared Henry the enemy when he came back home. Regina suspected as much from the way Emma scowled at him, but it was very clear after dinner. Henry wanted to play his video game on television and Emma wanted to see more cartoons.

“Come on, Emma. You had the TV all day,” Henry argued.

“I wanna see cartoons!” Emma screamed and stomped her foot. The house shook slightly.

Henry did not seem to notice the house or did not care. “You had the TV all day. I just want to play some games.”

“No! Cartoons!” Emma made tight fists and jumped up and down. There was a rumble underneath them and the house shook again, a little more violently than before.

“Emma,” he hissed. So, apparently, he just did not care Emma was about to cause a small earthquake right in their general area. The television was much more important.

“Cartoons! Cartoons! Cartoons!” A couple of pictures fell off of the mantle.

“What is going on in here?” Regina asked, stepping into the living room. She had been doing the dishes, which should have been Henry’s job. But, she cut him a break since he had only just come back home.

“Regina, cartoons!” Emma implored.

“Mom, Emma’s had the TV all day. I should get a chance to play my games,” Henry stated, patting himself on the chest.

“Cartoons!” Emma howled, glaring at Henry. There was a loud buzz.

“Henry, let Emma watch cartoons,” Regina ordered.

“Mom!” Henry huffed and looked at her as if she were a criminal. Regina was not deterred.

Emma giggled and clapped before flopping down onto the couch. Regina turned to Emma’s cartoons and then went back to cleaning up. Henry followed her, standing in the kitchen doorway.

“Mom, come on. She’s had the TV all day. This isn’t fair,” Henry argued.

“I know, but she’s going to be going to bed soon and you can have the TV then,” Regina replied calmly. Emma only had an hour left before her nighttime routine would begin.

“But, still, why’d you give into her tantrum? She’s being a brat,” Henry huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

Regina wiped down the countertop. “Yes, she’s being a brat, but she’s only six. You are the older one, so sometimes you have to bear the unfairness and take it maturely. You’ll still be awake when she’s asleep and you can have the television all to yourself. She just wants to watch cartoons now while she has the chance. Besides, in a week, she’ll be back to normal and the television will be all yours again. So, for now, please, be the reasonable older brother.”

Henry sighed and scratched his head. He glanced into the living room. “Why’s she such a brat? She was mean to Gramps and Grams and she keeps throwing all of these tantrums.”

Regina turned to Henry, feeling like this was a conversation she needed to give her full attention. “She’s a child, for one, Henry. And she has reasons.”

Henry scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Was I this bad at six?”

Regina chuckled. _He has no idea_. “Do you remember when Sheriff Graham used to come over here every now and then?”

Henry’s brow furrowed, wondering where she was going with this. “Yeah.”

“Do you remember how you used to act?” she inquired. He thought on it for a moment and then shook his head. “You used to be especially mean to him and tell me how you didn’t like him and you didn’t want him to come over. Do you know why you didn’t like him?”

“I did like him.”

“Not when you were little. You couldn’t stand the man and it was for a very simple reason – you didn’t like me paying attention to him. You wanted me to pay attention to you because you were used to being the center of my world. Whenever Graham was around, you felt like I wasn’t paying you enough attention. You were used to so much attention. Emma is the opposite.”

He looked even more puzzled. “She’s not used to attention?”

“No, but she wants the attention, like any other child. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to go about getting it, so she throws these tantrums and she acts out. So, let her have the television for now. She’s not used to getting her way.”

Now, he frowned. “Do you think she was really like this as a kid?”

“I’m sure of it.”

Henry’s frowned deepened and he seemed to chew on this information. Regina could only imagine what went through his head, what questions he would have for Emma. She hoped he at least waited until she was an adult again. But, she would prefer he not ask. Some things, he just did not need to know about.

This seemed to be enough for him and he left her to her chores. Regina finished what she was doing and then scooped Emma up for a bath. Emma looked confused.

“I took a bath last night,” Emma pointed out as they entered the bathroom.

“Yes, and it is now a new night. You should bathe at least once a day,” Regina replied. _Dear gods, who was she with that left her believing bathing was an occasional thing?_

Emma did not look sold on that, but she had a fun time in the tub. She liked bubbles and her few toys. When they were done, she ran to the vanity in her towel, ready to have her hair brushed.

“Emma, pajamas first,” Regina said, holding up the clothing.

Emma moved quickly to get into her pajamas and then rushed back to the vanity. She handed Regina the brush and Regina wasted no time brushing her hair. Emma smiled the whole time.

“You make my hair pretty,” the child said in a low voice, yawning and rubbing her eye.

“Well, your hair is very pretty,” Regina replied. She found brushing Emma’s hair soothing, even if it did remind her of her own mother. Mother used to brush her hair for her and yank it whenever Regina was not perfectly still, scolding her and demanding to know if she wanted to mess up her own pretty hair. Small things like this made Regina think she would never want a daughter, as she would suffer flashbacks and maybe even ruin a daughter since she had been such a horrible one, but taking care of Emma seemed to prove that wrong.

Once Emma was snug in the bed, she requested another story. Regina read to her until she fell asleep, holding Duckie and her toy dog. She was tucked in close to Regina, holding onto her arm. She whined in her sleep whenever Regina tried to pull away.

So, Regina sat there, whispering sweet words to Emma and gently petting her head. Regina wondered if any of this would stick with Emma. _Not that it matters_. Emma would be out of her hair within a few days. She could endure that.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: Regina takes little Emma to work with her. Emma also causes a little disturbance at the park.


	3. Work days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

3: Work days

Monday morning arrived and Henry went off to school with a grin while Regina decided to work from home. Emma seemed to enjoy being there, even when Regina had to leave her on her own to tend to her work. Emma continued on with Henry’s old books while Regina handled town business. For lunch, Emma wanted peanut butter and jelly rolls again, making sure to eat them with her chopsticks. Tuesday, though, Regina had to go into her office, though. She decided to bring Emma with her.

“Madam Mayor,” her assistant, who had been a simple handmaiden for her back in the Enchanted Forest, greeted her as she entered the office. She had been a loyal and competent handmaiden, though; two qualities Regina would always desire no matter what realm they occupied. 

“Good morning, Camille. This is Emma,” Regina introduced them, even though the whole town already knew about Emma. She did not want Emma to think she was not important enough to be introduced and announced, though.

“She’s so cute!” Camille cooed, her brown eyes shining. She rushed from around her desk, heels clacking against the tile. She leaned down to be on level with Emma. “This is a very pretty outfit you’re wearing.” Emma had on a coat, but it was open because the heat of the building hit them as soon as they walked in. Regina had not wanted the child to get uncomfortable.

Emma looked down at the floor and tapped her toe of her right boot. Regina gently patted her on the back. “Say thank you, Emma,” she encouraged the child.

“Thank you,” Emma muttered and then looked up. “Regina got it for me.”

Camille grinned. “She did? That was quite delightful of her.” She glanced at the mayor. She had been reluctant to look Regina in the eye since their memories had all returned, thinking of Regina more as the Queen than the Mayor. “She’s cute.”

Regina gave her a short nod. “Thank you. She’ll be sitting in today.”

Camille nodded and smiled, pleased with being handed unnecessary knowledge. Regina disappeared into her office with Emma. For the day, Emma was kept busy practicing the alphabet and numbers as well as coloring.

“Regina, what’re you doing?” Emma asked, wandering over to her desk.

“My job.”

“What’s your job?”

“I’m the mayor of the town.”

Emma nodded, but she also squinted and looked away, so Regina knew the next question. “What’s a mayor?”

“I explained it to you this morning, remember?” Regina countered. She had taken plenty of time to tell Emma where they were going and what was expected of her. So far, Emma had lived up to all of those expectations, once again proving that the three-foot version of Emma was infinitely superior to the full-sized one.

Emma nodded again. “Can I be mayor, too?”

Chuckling, Regina agreed and helped her set up a space to be mayor. Emma spent a while pretending to be mayor, making a desk out of the coffee table. Regina even provided her with a pen and old documents for her to “sign.” Emma could barely write her own name and Regina had to help her spell it out for the first document.

“I made the whole town have ice cream!” Emma declared as she held up one of her “decrees.” There was a sloppy picture of an ice cream con drawn on top of the words.

Regina chuckled. “That is very nice of you, Emma. I’m sure the town is very happy you’re in charge.”

Emma nodded. “We’re a good team, Regina.” 

Regina flinched and shook the words off. Emma had no idea what she was talking about after all. It was just some silly children’s game to her. Still, she needed a moment to recover.

“Oh, so we’re co-mayors now?” Regina asked.

“Co-mayors?” Emma’s forehead creased. She had only just learned what the mayor did this morning after asking Regina plenty of questions on their way to the office. She had no clue what “co” meant.

Regina shook her head. “It’s unimportant.” She glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. Are you hungry?”

Before Emma could answer, her stomach grumbled. Emma laughed, it was a young and vibrate sound. Regina smiled.

“My tummy says yes,” Emma replied with a grin.

For lunch, they went to Granny’s, where Ruby practically coddled Emma when she saw her in her little outfit. Emma was dressed in the pinstripe pants and vest Regina had bought her. Apparently, Ruby had never seen anything so cute.

“Oh, my god. You even got the little chain,” Ruby said, running a finger along the chain on Emma’s vest pocket connected to the vest edge. “And the little duck!” There was a charm hanging from the chair. Regina would not have been surprised if the wolf-girl swooned at that very moment. Maybe she would not even judge Ruby if she did. Maybe.

“That’s Duckie. Regina got him for me,” Emma explained with a smile. The Duckie charm was named for the plush toy after Emma was certain the charm was a picture of her toy.

“Regina got him for you?” Ruby looked up. “That was nice of her.” An amused grin spread across her face as she eyed Regina. Regina narrowed her gaze on Ruby, who immediately turned her attention back to Emma.

Emma nodded. “Regina’s nice.”

Ruby smiled. “She definitely has her moments.” She rubbed the top of Emma’s head.

“My ribbons,” Emma warned her in a slight whine. Ruby just grinned more.

“Perhaps you can show us to a table rather than making small talk, Miss Lucas,” Regina suggested, not wanting to hear what Ruby might start saying about her or if Ruby might muss Emma’s lovely hair.

“You got it!” Ruby grinned. This was not the reaction Regina expected.

They sat for lunch and Ruby took their orders. Regina ordered her usual and Emma had a grilled cheese with sweet potato fries. The child inspected the menu, wanting to know what sweet potato fries were.

“Fries got a tan?” Emma asked, pointing to the tiny picture.

Ruby laughed as she returned. “I love this kid.”

Emma grinned and maybe the sentiment was returned because she was quite friendly with the waitress. Ruby got a lot of conversation from Emma, who talked about her day at the mayor’s office with a smile. A person might have thought Emma had been mayor for the day hearing her tell it, but Regina was pleased Emma was not bored with her day. Ruby listened and asked plenty of questions. Emma ate up the attention.

“It sounds like you’re having a good day,” Ruby noted.

“It’s the best!” Emma beamed.

“I’m glad Regina’s taking such good care of you.”

Emma nodded enthusiastically. “She brushed my hair really nice and put these ribbons in it that I asked for.” If they were not careful, Emma might develop a little obsession with her hair.

Ruby feigned being impressed rather well. “Wow, they are pretty ribbons. Now, I should go get your food. I don’t want Regina to yell at me for not feeding you.” Ruby threw Regina a teasing smirk.

“Miss Lucas,” Regina hissed. _God, if I’m not careful, I might actually grow to like that girl_. She glanced at Emma. _No, I don’t need another annoyance in my life_.

Ruby laughed and raced off. Regina could see this little incident with Emma would cost her some of her reputation with the rabble. She would worry about that later, though. One fireball and they would all fall back in line.

“Oh, wow, they do got a tan,” Emma marveled when her food was placed in front of her.

“Emma,” Regina said sternly and the child knew this had to do with playing with her food. Emma quickly devoured her “tanned” fry.

Chuckling, Ruby made herself comfortable at the table next to Emma. “They taste good, small fry?”

Grinning, Emma nodded. Ruby talked to Emma little more when they were done with lunch. The odd thing was that Ruby did not mention Snow or David. It was like she knew this was a taboo subject for Emma. Regina did not ask. Surely, Snow had cried to Ruby about what happened at the docks and this was how Ruby knew.

They returned to the mayor’s office and continued on with their day. Regina left an hour early, not wanting to push her luck with how good Emma was. She allowed Emma to watch some cartoons when they arrived home. The doorbell chiming interrupted this.

“Henry?” Emma guessed, sounding just a little resentful. Looking at her feet, she scowled.

“He has a key. Stay here while I see who it is,” Regina softly ordered.

Emma nodded and Regina got up from the couch. Snow and David were at the door. They had Neal with them. Regina wished they would not press this by showing up unannounced.

“Hi, Regina, we’re here to see Emma,” Snow said.

“I assumed as much. Maybe you should have called, like most of polite society does before arriving on someone’s doorstep,” Regina commented.

“We were in the neighborhood,” David declared with an easygoing grin. Emma had inherited this expression.

Regina just looked at him, hoping he understood her eyes said she was not that stupid. Of course, since he was _that_ stupid, he probably did not comprehend why she looked that way. _Who do these fools think they’re fooling?_

“We just want to see our daughter,” Snow said with a hopeful, but watery smile.

“Which you could have easily done had you kept her at your apartment,” Regina pointed out. The couple flinched.

Snow eventually recovered. “We had to look out for Neal and Henry. Besides, we were also looking out for Emma. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if she found out she hurt them while under this spell.”

Regina rolled her eyes, finding strange how easily they had rationalized this, and decided against pointing out that Emma had not harmed Henry in the days since he arrived at the house. She had also not burned down the house in one of her tantrums. Of course, she could have if Regina allowed her to get upset enough, but it was just about calming the child down before anything got out of control.

“You may see her if she wishes to see you,” Regina informed them as she stepped out of their way. She did not want to leave Neal in the cold for long. He should not have to suffer because his parents were idiots… Of course, he probably already did and would more than likely continue to suffer in the future thanks to having two idiots for parents.

David marched right in, but Snow hesitated for a moment, obviously more aware of the situation than David. Regina pointed them in the direction of the living room, but the only things in there were the furniture and the television that watched itself. David turned to Regina immediately.

“Where is she?” he demanded, glaring at her as if she had something to little Emma.

“You would do well to watch your tone,” Regina replied scathingly, glaring right back. She had done them a favor, after all.

“Regina, please,” Snow whimpered.

“She was in here. But, as a six year old, minds wander. Something else could have caught her attention.” For all Regina knew, they were now playing some game and Emma was the only one aware.

“Maybe she went into the backyard,” Snow suggested.

“No, I leave that door locked and barred. So, even if she managed to work the lock, she wouldn’t be able to remove the bar,” Regina replied, turning to scan the floor. There were plenty of places Emma could have gone and then Regina groaned as she realized what game they were probably playing. “Hide and seek.”

“What?” David said, staring at her with a confused look that was so painfully Emma that Regina hated him for it for a moment. Then, she hated herself because she realized this expression made her want to explain things to him rather than taunt him.

“Emma may be playing hide and seek. Henry played all the time at this age and often didn’t tell me that we were playing.” Regina used to go out of her mind with worry the first dozen or so times Henry had done this. Henry never seemed to notice, more often scolding _her_ for her apparent mispronunciation of the game (“it's hide- _n_ -seek, not hide-and-seek,” he would say, wrinkling his nose at her) than paying her anxiety and relief any mind.

“So, she wants us to find her,” Snow commented with a bit of a smile.

Regina knew Snow thought Emma was warming to them if she wanted to play, but Regina doubted that was the case. This probably was not an actual game and Emma hid because she did not want to see her parents. Regina spared them that news and let them look for Emma. She kept an eye on baby Neal, who despite his namesake was adorable. She could not resist picking him up and cradling him to her.

“Let’s both hope I will only have to babysit you on occasion rather than you having to live here for weeks on end,” Regina remarked to the baby. He laughed in her arms. “Well, yes, I’m sure staying here would benefit you more, but I shall do my best to save you from those genes. It wouldn’t do for Henry’s uncle to be, well…” She trailed off. Neal giggled again and she smiled. _Biological clock_.

It was no surprise that their patience wore thin after about twenty minutes of abysmal luck, even though Snow had clearly done this before, knowing to look in odd little places. Maybe some of her students had this habit. David scowled after the last place he looked turned up nothing and he stood his full height, scanning the house with angry eyes.

“Now, Emma, you come out this instant,” David called with some authority in his voice. Surely it caused Emma to tuck in tighter where she was. 

“Yes, Emma. You won. We can’t find you,” Snow conceded. She had been so sure Emma had shut herself up in one of Regina’s many cupboards.

Of course, Emma did not appear. They called for her more and looked more, but left soon as Neal was hungry and cranky. Regina sighed in relief as soon as they were gone.

“Emma, sweetling, come out,” Regina called for her.

Emma did not appear for her either and Regina frowned, knowing she would have to search. Emma wanted this attention, wanted to know someone would look for her, someone would care enough to find her. But, Regina did not have much luck in making the discovery either.

“Emma, you can come out. They’ve gone,” she said with the hope this would get Emma to revel herself. No such luck, so she continued her search. She could not find Emma after turning the house upside down, which she was tempted to do literally if it meant finding the little blonde. “Where could she be?”

Emma had either picked a damned good spot or she had actually left the house and who knew what could happen to her outside. It was cold and getting dark. Henry came in just in time to see her running a hand through her hair as she racked her brain for any other small spaces Emma could have gotten into. _What if she’s stuck somewhere?_

“Mom, what’s going on?” Henry asked.

“I’m looking for Emma,” she replied, her tone just a bit tense.

“Looking for Emma?” He was puzzled for a moment and then realization brightened his face. “Is she playing hide-n-seek?”

“Yes, and she’s very good. She’s been well hidden for an hour.” Her voice was tenser still as she turned about, trying to figure out where the girl had gotten. _And I have no sheriff to call and report a missing child to. Lovely_.

Henry nodded. “Okay, Mom, calm down. It’s not like she’s outside.”

“I am calm,” Regina snapped. Okay, relatively speaking she was calm. She had to be doing better than the Charming family, after all. “It’s just, it’s been an hour.”

He nodded again and put his hands up a little. “Okay, and you’re worried, doing the Mom thing and all. But, you know, you could just use magic if you’re really concerned.”

“Magic?” Regina echoed, as if she had forgotten what it was. “And you won’t mind?”

Henry scoffed. “Mom, magic saved my life, protected me, and gave me an awesome life with Emma. I think I’m allowed to change my mind about it. Besides, you used it to save the town and stop an evil witch.”

Regina flinched internally. Was Zelena truly evil? She doubted she would ever put her sister in that category. Zelena only wanted what Regina herself wanted, wanted what little Emma wanted, even what Henry wanted – to be loved. It was not a crime and it was not a terrible thing to want. She just went about it the wrong way; something else Regina could appreciate. Regina shook that away, needing to focus on finding Emma.

With a simple tracking spell that highlighted Emma’s most recent footprints, Regina discovered the child crouched in a storage box in the garage. There was a fallen shovel pressing down on top of the container, angled in a manner that kept the box from opening. When she opened it, Emma looked pale and frightened, dried tears clung to her red cheeks and lines marred her wide green eyes. Regina wasted no time picking her up and holding her close.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re okay,” Regina sighed.

“I gots stuck. Couldn’t get out and it was so dark and cold,” Emma pouted as she clung to Regina, nearly strangling her. She shivered against Regina’s body.

“It’s okay, sweetling. It’s okay.” She rubbed Emma’s back for both of their comfort.

“I got scared… Did an accident.”

At the mention of that, Regina could feel the child was, indeed, wet. She did not even care. She held Emma tighter. She could fix both of their clothes later with magic. Emma sniffled and pressed her face into Regina’s shoulder.

“It’s all right. We’ll get you cleaned up and warm, okay?” Regina said. Emma nodded and held onto Regina tightly.

Little Emma was bathed and allowed to watch some cartoons. She continued to cling to Regina the whole time. Regina caressed her head, rubbed her back, and whispered words of safety to Emma. This was fine until Regina had to start dinner and Emma still did not want to let her go.

“Emma, Duckie can still sit with you,” Regina said, pressing the toy to Emma’s chest.

“Duckie’s too small,” Emma grumbled.

Regina looked across the couch. “But, Henry’s not small. He’ll sit with you.”

Emma turned to look at Henry, who smiled. “I’ll sit with you, Emma. You can teach me about the cartoons.”

Emma frowned a little, narrowing her gaze onto him. “And you won’t try to change the channel?”

“Nope. I want to watch this!” Henry grinned.

Emma turned back to Regina. “I want you to watch.”

“I know, but I have to make dinner, sweetling. We all have to eat, right?” Regina pointed out. “I’ll make you and Henry hot chocolate after dinner and you can have more of the cake.” Emma pouted, but she nodded and released Regina.

Regina smiled at Henry, pleased that he would help out. She just hoped they did not get into another fight. Henry was not used to small children, after all, and she was not sure what to expect, even after their talk.

As a reward, Regina made one of Henry’s favorite dinner, chicken masala. Emma was not impressed when she pulled up to the table. She poked at the chicken, rice, vegetables, and bread with a creased forehead as she did so. It was like she had never seen anything like it and more thought it deserved study than to be eaten.

“Emma, it’s good. Just jump right in,” Henry declared before eating a bit of chicken. He dipped his bread and bit that before finishing the chicken in his mouth. 

Emma poked at it a little more and then looked at Regina. Regina made a show of eating a delicate bite while smiling. Emma picked up a bit and tasted it. Wincing and turning her mouth up, she did not like it. She quickly dropped her fork and shook her head.

“Come on, Emma. You didn’t even take a bite. It’s really good,” Henry insisted, talking around a huge lump of food in his mouth.

“Henry,” Regina scolded him.

“Sorry, Mom,” he apologized, which earned him a glare. He chuckled sheepishly and finished his mouthful. “It’s really good, Emma. You should really try it.”

Emma scowled, but Henry’s goading got to her. She took a bigger taste. As she swallowed, she flinched. So, she genuinely did not like food. Of course, it might have been too rich for her depending on the meals she was used to. Older Emma probably would have swallowed the whole meal and asked for seconds, possibly without even tasting it.

“It’s weird. In New York, we had this all the time,” Henry said with a little wrinkle in his forehead.

“Tastes change over the years, Henry,” Regina replied. She turned to Emma. “Will you try to eat some, sweetling? At least for me?”

Pouting, Emma nodded. She tried, but after a couple of bites, Emma was actually green. Henry looked a bit worried.

“Emma, you can stop,” Regina said.

“But…” Emma shook her head.

“You may stop. You clearly don’t like the food. I won’t force you,” Regina said.

“Um… I…” Emma wanted to say something, but did not seem to know how to put her words. Regina could guess.

“You’ll have something else to eat,” Regina said.

Emma looked up. “Yeah?”

“Yes. I’ll make you something else. What would you like?” Regina inquired. She had come from a household where if dinner was not eaten, then she went to bed hungry… after being forced to sit at the table most of the night to force her to eat. She assumed Emma had been in a similar household at least once, which was why she was surprised to know she would still be able to eat something.

“Peanut butter rolls!” Emma grinned.

Regina chuckled. “Oh, you like those, hmm?” For a snack today, Regina had given Emma fruits designed to look like little animals, chicks, bunnies, and such. She had eaten them, but not with the same grin the peanut butter and jelly rolls got out of her. Regina had not thought anything of it at the time.

Emma nodded and Henry raised an eyebrow. “What are peanut butter rolls?”

“You’ll see.”

Regina left her food to tend to Emma and her request. She made a platter of peanut butter and jelly rolls as well as small fruit salad, making sure the pieces were a good size for Emma to grab with her chopsticks. Henry was done with his food by the time she returned.

“You never made those for me when I was little,” Henry said. His dark eyes looked a little hurt.

Emma grinned once more as she dug in. Regina believed it was in part because she loved the rolls and also that this was something Regina had only done for her as far as she now knew. Regina sat back down.

“I only just learned about these, Henry,” Regina assured him.

Henry did not look convinced. “Hey, Emma, could I try one?”

Emma frowned and hesitated to the point Regina thought she might have to step in, but Emma did the right thing without prodding. Pushing the platter over to Henry a bit, she let him have one.

“You should eat them with the chopsticks,” Emma suggested, holding up her pair.

“Henry, don’t eat too many. Remember, this is Emma’s dinner,” Regina said.

Henry nodded, but he went to the kitchen to get his own chopsticks. He shared Emma’s meal with her and they laughed over things while Regina cleaned up after her and Henry. Once they were done, they went to the living room where Henry watched cartoons with Emma and played along with the interactive shows, encouraging Emma to learn what they were teaching. Emma got to hang around a little longer since she had her bath, but eventually bedtime rolled around.

“I wanna stay up with ‘enry,” Emma yawned as Regina carried her up to her room. Despite her words, she had her head on Regina’s shoulder and was drifting off.

“You’ll see Henry tomorrow. It’s Duckie’s bedtime and he’s very sleepy. You know he can’t sleep without you,” Regina whispered, rubbing Emma’s back.

“Duckie can stay awake…” She yawned again.

Regina only chuckled. She tucked Emma into bed with Duckie and Princess the puppy. Stories were read and Emma was asleep. She did not cling to Regina as long that night, so Regina was able to spend sometime with Henry before he had to go to bed.

“I think she likes me now,” Henry said with a proud grin.

“I believe you’re right. She wanted to stay up with you,” Regina reported.

His eyes sparkled a bit from that news. “She’s okay, but I miss the old Emma.”

“Of course you do, Henry. You want your… mother. Not a sister.” Regina felt like she had been punched in the stomach to admit Emma was Henry’s mother, but the woman had raised Henry for a year. Yes, it was drop in a bucket compared her ten, but Henry seemed all right. Not to mention, thanks to his false memories, Henry would probably feel this way for the rest of his life. To him, Emma was as much of his mother as Regina was, in mind and heart.

Henry scrunched his face up. “Sister?”

“Well, I assumed that’s how you looked at it.”

Henry shook his head. “I hadn’t really thought about it that way.” He was silent for a while and then regarded her curiously. “Do you think of her as a daughter?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Henry,” Regina scoffed. Emma was still Miss Swan, a thorn in her side and possibly the most infuriating and annoying human being on Earth. No matter the form she was in, Emma Swan would always be those things.

Henry chuckled and his eyes seemed amused about something. He turned his attention back to his game. Regina decided against pressing him for what was going through his mind.

-8-8-8-8-

Regina felt something tugging on her arm. Her first instinct was to pull away and burrow further into her blankets, but then she remembered she had two children in the house. Opening one eye, she saw wild blonde hair and sorrowful green eyes looking at her.

“Emma, what’s wrong?” Regina inquired.

“Um… Duckie got scared,” Emma replied in a low voice.

“Oh, Duckie got scared, hmm?” Regina sat up and looked down at the girl, suspecting a nightmare. “Did Duckie have an accident, too?” She could only assume if the dream scared Emma enough to wake her up, there was also a puddle in the bed. Checking the time to see it was one in the morning, Regina rubbed her face.

Nodding, Emma looked at her feet. “Duckie did.”

“Well, we’ll have to clean Duckie up and you, if he got you, too.”

Emma nodded. There was a small puddle on the bed. Regina stripped the bed and cleaned everything, including Emma and Duckie. Emma had also managed to tear her pajamas again, so new clothes would have been in order no matter what. She tucked Emma back in and read another story until Emma fell back to sleep.

Regina made her way back to bed once Emma was asleep. Regina’s head barely hit the pillow before she felt tugging at her blankets. Opening an eye, she saw blonde hair again.

“Yes, Emma?”

“Duckie had a nightmare,” Emma replied.

“Uh-huh.”

“Duckie was trapped in the box.”

Regina nodded. “Well, Duckie isn’t trapped in the box anymore. He doesn’t have to be scared of that.”

“I know, but it’s dark. Can I… I mean, can we, me and Duckie…”

She knew where this was going. “You may sleep here.”

Emma giggled and wasted no time crawling into bed. Regina moved the blankets to help. Emma cuddled up close to her. Regina tensed, but Emma sighed and fell asleep almost immediately. Regina was now wide awake.

It had been many years since a child slept beside Regina. It was soothing in a way. It reminded her of when Henry thought being beside her was the safest place on Earth. She felt like that time would never come back. Too much had happened and he was now too old. It was nice to be someone’s safe place again.

Of course, it was also odd since this was Miss Swan curled up against her.  She found herself wondering what the adult Emma would think of this. What would happen when Emma returned to normal? She meant that for both them.

Thanks to taking care of the little towhead, Regina doubted she would be able to go back to her righteous indignation. Part of her feared every time she looked at Miss Swan now the first thing she would see – maybe even the only thing she would see – was this darling child. She would never be able to be properly angry with Emma again. The thought infuriated her.

-8-8-8-8-

The next day, Regina went back to the office with Emma in tow. The child colored and practiced writing. After lunch at Granny’s, Emma seemed a little restless. She wandered the office, inspecting and touching everything. Once she knocked a couple of things over, Regina realized it was time try something else.

“Emma, how about we go to the park,” Regina suggested with a grin. She did not feel as enthusiastic as she appeared, but it might help Emma.

Emma grunted, which was not the reaction Regina expected. This was beyond her being restless then. Regina moved from behind her desk and walked over to Emma.

“What’s wrong, sweetling?” Regina asked, running her hand through Emma’s hair. Instead of ribbons today, she had put a few decorative clips in, which Emma liked just as much as her ribbons.

“Henry went to school,” Emma said.

“Yes, Henry has school.” Where she learned he was suddenly very popular because he had seen the outside world. This was a step-up from his fluxing social status of being the son of the Savior and also the son of the Evil Queen.

Emma’s eyes went to the floor and she toed the tile. “How come I’m not?”

Regina’s eyebrows knitted closer together. “How come you’re not what?”

“At school.”

“Oh, sweetling, you want to go to school?”

Emma nodded. “The last time I wasn’t… I got sent back.”

“Oh.” Regina had not thought of that. Emma needed as much stability as she could get, even if this was going to be over in a couple of days. “I tell you what, we’ll go and register you and you’ll start next week, okay?”

Emma nodded again. “Duckie, too?”

Regina made sure to smile brightly. “Of course, Duckie, too.”

“Princess, too?”

Regina made an exaggerated wince. “I don’t think puppies are allowed in school.”

“But, Duckie can def’nitely come?”

“Yes, Duckie can. We’ll go tomorrow early in the morning and register you, okay?”

“Yes.” Emma smiled and looked absolutely precious. “Okay, then we can go to the park today, right?”

Regina laughed. “Yes, we can still go to the park today. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Emma rushed to clean up her mess without needing to be told. Regina finished up a couple of documents. Once everything was straightened up, Emma took Regina’s hand, letting her know it was time to go. They exited the office.

“Camille, Emma and I will be gone for the rest of the day,” Regina informed her assistant.

Camille nodded. “All right, ma’am.”

“Work out my schedule for tomorrow and then you may leave. I doubt there will be any emergencies.”

Camille nodded again. “Bye, Emma.”

“Bye, Cammy!” Emma waved as she and Regina left.

The pair made it to the park in a few short minutes by car. When they got to the park, Regina needed to have a talk with Emma, as she had a feeling the girl would be a bit of a wild child. She was not sure if Emma had ever had the “stranger danger” talk, not that anyone would dare touch Emma of all people, especially since it was common knowledge that she was in Regina’s care.

“All right, Emma, before we go on the playground, I need you to know you shouldn’t talk to any strangers,” Regina said, pulling Emma’s coat a little tighter against her. It was not extremely cold, but she wanted to make sure Emma did not get sick. The last thing she needed was for Emma to become an adult in a few days while suffering from the flu, as Regina was certain the Charmings would come up with another excuse to dump the blonde on her.

“No strangers.” Emma nodded.

“Do not take anything from strangers or go anywhere with strangers.”

“No strangers,” Emma repeated.

“Stay where I can see you and you can see me.” She doubted this needed saying, but it was always better to say something than to think it was a given.

“Okay.”

“Please, try not to mess up your pretty clothes.”

Green eyes went wide and Emma shook her head frantically. “I don’t wanna mess up my pretty clothes.”

“Then be careful. All right?”

Regina unleashed Emma onto the playground. She was probably the oldest child out there, but she was about the size as the rest of the toddlers. The other children were at school. Emma played on her own, climbing things and sliding down things. Eventually, she ran to Regina, who was parked on a bench, and handed the mayor Duckie. He had been dropped a couple of times and would need washing.

“I don’t wan’ Duckie to get hurt,” Emma explained and was off before Regina could reply. Regina smiled. _Adorable_. She could not understand how Emma, even now, had a rather big heart, looking out for her little toy, who also seemed to be her best friend.

Emma raced right back to the playground area. The few people that were there watched Emma and watched Regina. They seemed to be waiting for something, but Regina was not sure. Maybe they expected her to use magic and cause an “accident” for Emma. Maybe they thought Emma would change back in this moment, a very inconvenient moment. Maybe they just thought it was weird for Regina to bring little Emma to the playground. Whatever the reason, they watched and Regina hated it.

 _All these people are good for is spectating_. They observed and judged, but never did for themselves. They waited for others to dirty their hands. They were excellent sheep in that respect, which explained their fondness for David.

Regina was drawn from her thoughts when Emma dropped from the monkey bars, landing on her shoulder. Regina was up and over to Emma before she even realized what happened. Regina bent down to inspect the child, brushing off her coat with a gentle sweep of her hand.

“Are you all right?” Regina asked.

Emma groaned. “Yeah, just clicked my teeth.”

“You landed rather hard on your shoulder. Does it hurt?” Regina placed a tender hand on the aforementioned body part. Emma hissed.

“A little, but I’m okay. I don’t wanna leave yet!”

Regina gave the girl a quick once-over. She looked all right, even though her nose and cheeks were a touch rosy. “We don’t have to leave, but I need you to be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt, all right?”

Emma nodded and raced off with the resiliency one could only expect from a child. Regina picked up a couple of the hair clips that had fallen from Emma’s hair and then went back to her space on the bench. Everything was going well. Emma moved a bit slower, but did not show signs of being injured. Her clothing was a little mussed, but nothing was torn, and her shoes remained un-scuffed. Her hair would require some brushing, but they would both enjoy that.

The day took a turn for the worse as a familiar little body darted onto the playground. Roland went right for the slides. Regina looked in the direction he came from and saw his parents approaching. She sighed.

“It’s never easy,” Regina muttered. She would take this with grace and dignity, though. If they said nothing to her, she would say nothing to them.

Robin and Marian did not seem to notice Regina until they were almost on the playground. They paused when they saw her, but then sat far away from her on an empty bench. Regina focused on Emma, but noticed Robin and Marian watching her as much as their son. Regina resisted the urge to magically strangle the both of them for acting like she had done something wrong.

She was surprised she did not feel any emotional ping besides annoyance at the sight of Robin and his wife. There was not much attachment there, no matter how hard she tried to dig it up. In about the time she had been seeing Robin Hood, she had lost all emotion connected to him and his wife. Maybe she was just drained from everything.

After all, she had to deal with Emma, Henry’s return, Zelena’s death, and even the fact that she no longer had a mortal enemy in Snow White. Maybe she could not handle all of it and her brain recognized that. It had happened before when there was just too much coming at her at once and all she could do was emotionally shut down. But, this was not the same.

She felt many things, especially with Henry back home. The joy and love at just seeing her son was something beyond measure. Being able to hug and hold him was more than anything she could explain. To have him smile at her and talk to her were things she thought lost to her a long time ago, but to have them returned made them beyond value. So, no, she was not emotionally shut down.

Even with little Emma, she found herself treading water in a sea of emotion. It was troubling, but decent, nearly delightful at times. Perhaps there just was no room for Robin. Or worse, perhaps there had been so little there to begin with and she had only fooled herself into believing otherwise, wanting something good in her life at the time. _Maybe I forced something to be there_.

She had wanted to believe in the pixie dust, to believe she had been destined something good. But, perhaps that was childish, even for someone from the Enchanted Forest. She knew she had to work for everything she got in life and honestly she preferred that for most things. Love by destiny seemed hollow. She knew from Daniel, love did not work that way. Their love, even if it was just puppy love, had taken time and care. They had to work on it to grow _. No, I definitely put too much stock in pixie dust. Hoping against hope, believing in something I once knew better than_.

Regina was drawn from her thoughts when she heard Roland cry out. She looked up just in time to see the boy fall to the hard rubber. Emma stood over him, scowling.

“You can’t talk about Regina like that!” Emma huffed, shaking her fist.

“Emma,” Regina called as she and Roland’s parents rushed to the scene. “Emma, you shouldn’t hit the other children.”

“He’s rude, Regina!” Emma growled, pointing down at the crying boy. Roland ran to his parents, throwing himself into his father’s arms.

“Trust you to turn Emma into a little thug,” Marian accused Regina, glaring at the former queen as if she had been the one to push Roland.

Regina glared right back at the woman. “Emma is not a thug.” Her eyes dared Marian to contradict her.

“Regina, he said not nice stuff.” Emma continued to scowl and point at Roland as she tucked herself in close to the mayor.

“It’s all right,” Regina tried to assure her, rubbing little Emma’s back.

“No, it’s not! He said… he said… he said…” Tears were now in Emma’s eyes and she was clearly worked up, her chest heaving. “He said you were a bad person and you’re not!”

Internally, Regina flinched, but she regarded the “Hood” family with cool eyes. “I see. So, we’ve taken no time demonizing me to the child whose life I saved and was nothing but kind to in all the time I’ve known him. That’s respectable. But, why should I expect less from outlaws?”

“Regina,” Robin tried to object.

“It’s quite all right,” Regina said crisply and turned her attention to Emma. “You cannot go around pushing children on the playground, regardless of what they say about me. Is that understood?”

“But, you’re not bad!” Emma bawled. “You’re nice and he was mean!”

Regina scooped the upset child into her arms and carried her away, not giving Robin and his family a glance back. She did not care about them. She took Emma to the car, where the blonde cried for almost five minutes and all Regina could do was try to soothe her with soft words and gentle touches. She hiccuped and clutched Regina’s coat lapels like a lifeline. When she finally stopped, she remained curled into Regina.

“Ready to go home, sweetling?” Regina asked in a low tone, brushing her thumb over Emma’s flushed cheeks. 

“Yes, please,” she replied. She had heard Henry say it last night.

Regina smiled at the response and brushed Emma’s face out of her hair. Emma buckled herself in and sat quietly as they left the park. The radio played, but Emma did not sing along or even move to the beat.

They returned home and ended up on the sofa. Emma was a bit subdued and just wanted Regina to read to her, which Regina was fine with. She also got a chance to brush Emma’s hair to tame it just a bit. Emma only sat still for that for a while before she practically shoved the book back in Regina’s hand.

“Duckie really wants to hear the end,” Emma muttered, eyes on her toy, which she had hugged close to her chest.

“Of course.” Regina continued reading.

When Henry came in, he took over reading and Regina made them a snack. She made ladybugs on crackers, using cream cheese, cherry tomatoes, and olives. She also made apple turtles, using green apples and green grapes. Emma had a soft spot for peanut butter, so she put a little in a cup for her in case she wanted to dip her apples. It was a pleasant night, but Emma did not recover her usual energy.

-8-8-8-8-

“Emma said you guys had a run in with Robin Hood and his family,” Henry said as he and Regina shared the sofa. She had just put Emma to bed and now had a book in her lap. He played his game, but his focus seemed to be more on her than the television.

Regina kept her attention on the book she read. “It was nothing.”

“She confessed to pushing Roland. She said he seemed nice and thought he might be her friend, but then he pointed to you and said you were bad. She didn’t like that,” Henry explained.

“I assumed as much earlier.” She then put it out of her mind, not wanting think about how Roland had been turned against her. Regardless of her emotions toward Robin and Marian, she still liked Roland and while she knew they would never have a real relationship, it would have been nice for him to at least still like her.

Henry stared at her until she looked at him. “Are you okay? I mean, she was upset, but she said they weren’t very nice to you.”

Regina waved it off. “I have more pressing matters to tend to than worry about what Robin and his ilk think of me.”

He turned and looked directly at her. “Mom, they said he was your True Love or something. Or you thought he was, at least.”

She waved that off. “Yes, and now I’m over it. True Love is overrated. After all, look at who’s chasing Emma around.” True Love and destiny and even magic were starting to look less appealing to her as time went by.

Henry snickered. “Hook’s okay.”

Regina rolled her eyes. Hook was so “okay” he had not been by to check on Emma, had not called to ask about her, and was probably actively avoiding them when they were outside. She was of no use to him as a child, after all. Of course, considering she did not have her memories, the second she saw Hook, she probably would assume he was weirdo. She would have been right if she had.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Henry asked with concern in his voice. “I mean, it’s okay to be hurt. You can tell me if you are.”

She smiled a little. “I appreciate the concern, Henry, but I’m all right.”

“Are you sure?”

“Honestly, Henry, I must be. I felt nothing when I saw him, not even anger at your other mother for what she had done. So, I’m over it.”

Henry made a noise and gave her a look she could not decipher, but he did not press the issue. Instead, he spent the little time he left to be up watching a show he liked. She read her book and reveled in the fact that she told her son the truth, even though she really did not want to share that with him. Then, they both retired for the night.

In the middle of the night, Regina was awakened again by tugging on her covers. She knew it was Emma this time right away. She opened an eye to see a tearful Emma by her bed.

“Yes, Emma?” Regina asked.

“I’m sorry for fighting.” Her voice was low and trembling.

“It’s all right, sweetling.”

She sniffled. “So, don’t send me away, okay?”

Regina’s brow creased. “Send you away?”

Emma nodded and gazed her with large, begging green eyes. “Yeah, don’t send me away. I know fighting’s bad and I know I get sent away for bad stuff, so don’t send me away. I’ll never fight again, okay? I won’t be bad. I’ll be really good, but don’t send me away.”

Regina’s heart clenched in her chest. _I’ll be really good_ … Dear God, she could hear herself in those words, pleading with her mother. It should not hurt her as much as it did. It affected her down to spaces she had tried to seal away, but Emma, little Emma had gotten through the cracks.

“Sweetling, I won’t send you away. I wouldn’t say you did something bad,” Regina tried to assure her. She was honestly a little flattered that Emma had defended her honor. Too bad it was to a child she liked and not his blowhard father.

“Fighting’s bad. I know it is, but I won’t be bad.”

“You definitely made a bad move, Emma, but then you made a good move by talking to me about it, like you’re supposed to.”

Emma nodded. “The best move.”

“Yes, it certainly is. You can stay with me and Henry for as long as you want, okay,” Regina promised, reaching out to caress her cheek.

Emma pressed herself into Regina’s hand, but her face remained sorrowful. “I had a dream… You made me leave.”

“I would never.”

“And then you disappeared and I was alone.”

“I won’t disappear.”

“Can I…?”

Regina held up the covers and Emma wasted no time crawling into the bed. She had Duckie and Princess with her, but put them off to the side. She snuggled against Regina’s side, resting her head on Regina’s shoulder. Regina put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

-8-8-8-8-

The next night, Emma did not wake Regina up when she crawled into bed. Regina just happened to wake up in the middle of the night to find the girl asleep beside her. She merely went back to sleep.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: the week is over.


	4. Flaw less

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.

4: Flaw less

Emma woke feeling dizzy and disoriented. Her bed had never felt so comfortable, though. She felt settled, warm, and safe, as well. Not things she was used to, but found she could get accustomed to them. And then she remembered why she felt this way. Turning her head up, she looked to see Regina resting peacefully next to her. The sight of Regina made Emma feel so many things, almost all of them wonderful, but there was a bit remorse and also confusion. 

 _Why the hell did Regina do this for me?_ Emma did not have an answer beyond their age-old excuse of Henry. Henry had suggested Regina to take care of her, but Regina had not known that when she had taken Emma in. Emma was certain she could live for a thousand years and she would never fully understand Regina Mills.

But, now, she felt like she also did not fully understand herself. Or maybe now she understood herself better than ever. Whatever it was, she did not want to move from this spot because this was security on a level she had never known. For once in her life, she did not feel the need to move, to flee, to search. She was calm on the inside and it was quite the thing.

Emma was not sure she had ever felt quite so settled, except for her year in New York with Henry. She wondered if that was why she had considered going back, chasing the feeling. She thought it was the location. And, maybe it was the location, since she was located here and felt… home.

As Regina made a noise, signs she was stirring, Emma held onto her tighter. She did not want Regina to fall out of bed when she awoke to find herself in the arms of the fully-grown Savior. Regina’s eyes fluttered open and for a moment they were the most amazing thing Emma had ever seen until they went wide with panic.

“Miss Swan!” Regina jumped, trying to remove herself from the situation.

“No, please,” Emma said, pulling Regina to her. “Please.” She needed Regina to stay here, stay with her. She needed to figure out what was going on with her now and she could only do that with Regina there.

Regina managed to pretend to be calm, but Emma could feel her heartbeat as she shamelessly rested her head against Regina’s chest. After a few silent seconds, Regina’s heart settled into it’s proper rhythm, a sound that had given Emma three awesome nightmare-free nights’ sleep. This was rare even in her adult years, but unheard of when she was a child.

This thought made Emma caress Regina’s side. The mayor tensed, but she did not say anything. Taking a deep breath, Regina tried to relax. Emma appreciated the attempt. _But, why the hell is Regina being so nice to me? She should’ve thrown me out by now, literally_.

“The magic finally wore off,” Regina pointed out the obvious, more than likely unsure of what else to do. Her words disturbed Emma’s thoughts.

“Yeah. It’ll be nice to be able to reach the counter again,” Emma remarked with a half smile. She bet it looked as awkward as it felt. “Regina…” Her tone was serious.

Regina refused to look at her. “You don’t have to.”

“No, I do. You don’t have any idea what you did for me. You need to know.”

“I merely babysat for a couple I know,” Regina tried to insisted, attempting to push out of Emma’s grip, but not really. If she wanted to get away, she would have.

Emma held her tighter and Regina settled down once more. “You did so much more that, Regina. I know it was this week, but everything with you for me actually feels like it happened when I was six, like it happened years ago, and it’s changed something inside of me.”

“You could tell that in the minutes between being asleep and waking up?” Regina sounded quite skeptical.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I can feel it.” Emma moved one hand, rubbing the center of her chest for a moment. “I feel less… I dunno, jumbled up inside, less suspicious, and less… well, hurt. I feel like some scarring inside of me actually healed.”

Regina turned her mouth up. “Really? So, you think it’s an all right thing for me to know you went to the bathroom on yourself no less than five times in the past week?”

Emma grunted. Okay, so that was pretty embarrassing. But, not terrible. It certainly was not life-ending. Besides, she doubted Regina would ever actually use the information against her. She trusted Regina, with everything, and this was a symptom of their week together… well, maybe it was more than that. Maybe the week had allowed the trust to grow. After all, before this, Regina had given her so much with Henry and New York. Regina had given her so much and she felt like this week had reawakened the knowledge and feelings that went with this, as well as added to it.

“I peed on myself until I was ten,” Emma confessed. “It was one of the number of reasons people always sent me back.”

Regina sighed and was silent for a long time, to the point it almost became uncomfortable. “I did it once.”

Green eyes squinted a bit as Emma searched Regina’s face. “Once?”

Regina frowned a little. “My mother discovered the soiled bedclothes, even though my nanny tried to hide it.”

“What did she do?”

Regina swallowed so hard it sounded like it bounced off of the walls. “Made sure I understood it was to never happen again.” Her voice was low and grim.

Emma did not have to guess what happened. She had met Cora, after all. It was not surprising to find out she reacted badly to Regina having an accident.

“How old were you?” Emma asked, holding Regina just a little tighter. She wanted Regina to understand she could be there for Regina just like Regina had been there for her. She could return the favor and they could make each other feel safe and secure. She could bring a little shine back to Regina’s world.

“Four, but I remember it quite vividly. I never dared have an accident again, but the trouble came out in different ways.”

“Like?” Emma wanted to carry the weight of Regina’s trauma with her, as Regina carried hers. She hoped Regina understood that. This was not tit-for-tat, but a bonding of sorts, more so than the past week had been.

Sighing loudly, Regina squirmed a little. “I was a sleepwalker for most of my childhood. It was shameful in the old world to be such. There was the belief you were possessed by demons or dark magic or some such nonsense. But, whenever Mother tried to… correct it, I only became worse. Of course, the worse I got, the more furious she became, which led to her doing other things that did not involve correcting the sleepwalking issue.”

The sharing made her feel like Regina understood. _Regina always understands_. “I think people ‘corrected’ my behavior in a similar way, but they didn’t have to keep me around like your mother did. After a while, they just gave up and gave me back. But, in between all of that, now, my mind has you. You made humanity suck just a little bit less for me.”

There was something inside Emma now. She was not sure what it was, but she could feel it. It was why she did not want to run, why she felt settled. It was something that made her believe just a little bit more than she used to and it was there because six-year-old Emma found out not everyone would send her back for every little thing. There were people that cared out there, people who would hold onto her as real family through thick and thin. The world had a little more shine to it now.

Regina shook her head. “But, you know it only happened last week.”

Emma rubbed her forehead. “But, like I said, in my head, it all happened when I was six. For me, in between being given back and judged and made to feel like I wasn’t worth the effort, there’s you. You made me feel like I belonged and like everything was okay. I didn’t feel broken around you.” _I don’t feel as broken as before, but I feel damn near normal with Regina now. Kinda weird considering a week ago she acted like I was the worst person to ever live_.

Regina caressed Emma’s head, like she had done when Emma was a child. Emma doubted the mayor was aware of it and Emma did not say anything because she liked this. Regina petting her made her calm down and chased away anxiety, just like it had when she was a child. Those things from the last week, she imagined they would all stick with her and the thing that made it odd was just it all seemed like something that happened to her long ago, even though she knew it had just occurred.

“A child shouldn’t be made to feel broken or like there’s something wrong with her. You…” Regina’s voice cracked. “You were a beautiful, sweet child.”

Emma looked up and she had to blink away tears as she locked eyes with Regina. “Thank you…” She did not know what else to say. “Sorry for acting like a brat.” She settled back down, hoping Regina would not say anything about the position.

“No need to apologize.”

“Still, thank you and sorry. You don’t know what you did. I mean, I even feel like I have trust in me. I’m not waiting for everyone to turn on me or screw me over. It’s weird and it’s against everything I know to be true, but I feel that way. I feel hope and you did it!” Emma insisted. She thought Regina would understand, but she suspected it was hard to understand. She did not understand it much and it happened inside of her. She did think Regina should understand what it meant for someone to be there for her at six years old, though.

Regina nodded. “I understand why you remember this in a six-year-old context, but it’s odd for your memory to take it that way.”

Emma shrugged. “I don’t understand any of this. I’m just telling you how it feels.” It was the best she could do at the best of times in Storybrooke anyway.

“It’s not me you need to tell.”

“Yes, it is. You need to know.” Emma sat up again, wanting to look Regina in the eye. “You get it. I know you get it, what you did for me. This feeling inside of me, this thing that makes me feel worthwhile. Yeah, you put it in the kid-me, but the adult-me still feels it.” She breathed out and smiled. “And it’s just amazing.”

Sighing, Regina shook her head. “It’s nothing, Miss Swan. You’re looking too deeply into it.”

“No, I’m not.” Emma brought a hand up to Regina’s cheek and stared deeply into Regina’s eyes, wanting the older woman to feel like she was looking into her very soul. “You made me feel like I matter. I didn’t need to prove anything to you. I didn’t need to be one way with you. I was me and you accepted that. Again, I know you get how big that is.”

Regina held onto Emma’s hand. “I suppose.” This was as good as confirmation as she would get with a stubborn Regina. She hoped Regina would let down the walls again soon.

“I just…” Emma leaned down, pressing her forehead to Regina’s. She felt several things, warm and happy amongst them, when Regina did not pull away. “You’re an amazing woman, Regina. I’m sorry for everything, for hurting you and ruining your relationship.”

Regina frowned. “Idiot.”

Emma chuckled, knowing she was forgiven. She had been forgiven a while ago, she assumed. One day, she would tease Regina about it, knowing it was her childish charm that got her out of trouble, but now was not the time for it. Besides, she did not want to piss Regina off right now. She was completely and utterly serious about everything.

“You’re my safe place now, Regina.”

“That’s fine,” Regina said, like it was nothing, like she had not hated Emma just a week ago.

Emma squinted, studying Regina’s face. “Is it?” Maybe the walls were already down and Regina was just unsure about what to do about it, which was why her responses were a little off.

“It is.”

Emma let those words wander her mind for a few moments. “Is this… Can I… I mean, is this still… home?”

“I would have thought you’d rather return to your parents’ house now.”

A scowl practically slapped itself onto Emma’s face. “Them.”

“Yes, them.”

Emma sighed, doing her best to remove the scowl. She ended up pouting just a little. “Do you think…” Her brow creased as she paused. “Did they do the right thing?”

“What I think is unimportant. Do you think they did the right thing?” Regina countered.

Emma’s eyebrows drew close together, wrinkling her brow all the more as she frowned. “You took care of me and there was only one of you. Why couldn’t they take care of me? They could’ve easily brought Henry here, so they wouldn’t be taking care of three kids and they could’ve done this, but they didn’t. It’s a bit of a blow.”

Regina nodded and ran a finger along Emma’s bare bicep. “That’s understandable.”

The simple finger on her skin made Emma’s heart race. “But, thankfully, my six-year-old self didn’t know they were my real parents. I just thought they were another set of people who claimed to be my mom and dad. But, now…” Emma bit back her anger, but felt it was safe to tell Regina. This was the woman who knew she peed on herself as a child and had held her during her nightmares, after all. “How many times will these people throw me the hell away?” she snarled.

Regina sighed. “I think that’s a conversation you need to have with them.”

“I will. I just… I can come back here, right?” She hoped she did not sound like she was begging, even though she was. She did not know what to do with herself now and really needed to be able to return home.

“You can,” Regina grunted, like she really did not want that, but Emma knew it was an act. She knew Regina just needed to be a badass at all times, like she needed. “Now, we should rise. I need to make breakfast before Henry wakes up.”

Emma nodded and then she grinned. “You actually registered me for school.”

Regina frowned, as if she was annoyed. Too bad Emma now knew Regina thought she was cute for the most part. She would milk it for all it was worth.

“You wanted to go and you needed it anyway,” Regina stated.

“Yeah, I was always behind. I got left back twice,” Emma admitted, scratching her head.

“I’m sure it was because you missed school thanks to people who should have been watching out for you were not doing their jobs.”

Emma smiled. “I guess. Eventually, I just gave up and dropped out. I still can’t believe you registered me.”

“Again, you wanted us to go.”

“But, you knew I was going to change back eventually. You really went out of your way to make me feel good, Regina. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

“It’s all right, sweetling.” Regina flinched as soon as the term of endearment was out of her mouth.

Emma blushed. “I liked you calling me that.”

Regina did not respond, easing out of bed and rushing into the en suite bathroom. Emma chuckled at Regina’s embarrassment, but knew this was no laughing matter. She felt a lot more things for Regina now than she did a week ago. Or maybe more feelings had come to the surface since last week. Whatever it was, Regina was the only thing she felt confident about right now. She was certain Regina would not hurt her. She trusted Regina with everything now. Regina was the only person she trusted in this manner now.

“You should get dressed,” Regina said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

“I would, but I can’t fit any of the clothes you bought me,” Emma pointed out. All of her real clothes were at her parents’ apartment.

“Not that you would wear any of those things now if you could,” Regina remarked with a teasing smirk.

A laugh escaped Emma. “I dunno. I thought they were all cute and I liked all of the compliments I got.”

Regina snorted and then waved her hand. “All of your clothes are now adult sized.”

Emma grinned and trotted off to get dressed, torn pajamas falling off of her as she left. She really did like the clothes Regina bought her. As a child, she appreciated them because they were her own and brand-new and they showed how much Regina cared about her. She suspected Regina understood how much even that meant to her, but she would not bother Regina with it right now.

Thankfully, in her mad dash to the guest room, Emma did not chance upon Henry, who she would have definitely traumatized. She gathered her clothes and was about to head for the shower when she remembered she had a bath last night. Shaking her head, she doubted she would ever get over the idea of Regina bathing her.

“She did so much for me. Why? Just because I was a kid that needed help? Seriously?” Emma could hardly believe that since her own parents did not do anything for her when she needed help. There had to be more to it, but she was not sure what. Part of her was scared to find out because it might be a simple thing and ruin how she felt right now. She shook that away, knowing it would not help to think on such things. She got dressed.

After putting on her black slacks and the gold belt that went with it, she slid on a button-down shirt. She collected her ribbons, running her fingers over them. This led her to looking at the brush on the vanity. Her heart swelled and she smiled.

“Regina’s actually got a pretty big heart when given the chance,” Emma murmured. It was not surprising, but it still felt nice to experience.

By the time Emma made her way downstairs, Regina had breakfast going. She almost went to go practice her alphabet while she waited for the food, but it was unnecessary. She knew the alphabet, could spell her name, and could count well past ten now. Of course, she would have been able to do those things as a six-year-old if she had someone in her life like Regina. Her thoughts were distracted as Henry bounded the stairs as he did every morning, a morning person just like his adoptive mother.

“Emma!” Henry grinned when he saw her. He flung himself at her, almost knocking them both over.

“Hey, kid, you’re way too big to do that,” Emma laughed as she wrapped her arms around him.

“I’m never too big to hug you!” he declared and held her tightly. “I missed you.”

“How could you? I was a brat to you.”

Blinking, Henry pulled away. “So, you remember being a kid?”

“Yeah.”

His brow furrowed, clearly trying to make sense of the whole thing. _Good luck to him_ , as far as Emma was concerned. “But, the kid you didn’t remember being an adult,” he pointed out.

Emma shook her head. “I don’t know how this magic stuff works, Henry.” She could live to be a million and it would all be a mystery to her.

Laughing, he accepted that. They sat down for breakfast. They did not really talk. Regina barely looked up from her plate. Henry ate and looked back and forth at his mothers, as if waiting for something that did not happen. Everything was a little awkward and Emma knew it was because of her. They had gotten used to her being six, after all.

“You know, I really liked this when I was little,” Emma said, hoping it would clear the air and make things better.

“You did this with one of your families?” Henry asked.

Smiling, Emma nodded. “Yeah, this one.” She pointed to Henry and Regina. “I liked this because I felt like I was a part of this family.”

“You are,” Henry said with a laugh, like she was silly.

Emma looked at Regina, who tried so hard not to smile at her, but could not succeed. Emma smiled, too. “Yeah, I am.” Just as she felt different about Regina, she knew Regina felt different about her. Or maybe it was that things they had always felt were now closer to the surface than ever before and needed to be acknowledged. They would both need to sort it out.

“I’m sure the town will be thankful to have their Sheriff back, even though considering there was no crime spree while you were indisposed, I have to wonder if your position isn’t superfluous,” Regina commented.

“You say that now until the town is being threatened by some super-powered crazy,” Emma laughed.

“I think I can handle any super-powered crazy without falling for their trap, too,” Regina said dryly.

Henry frowned, but Emma took it in stride. Regina was just trying to be normal, set them right back where they were, and make sure the world stayed in orbit. Emma would let it go for now because she had other things to handle, but once she got that out of the way, Regina would need to know things would never be able to go back to the way they were. She now refused the past. Things could be changed. Regina taught her as much.

“So, no more cartoons then?” Henry asked with a lopsided, wiseass grin. His eyes sparkled with mirth to the point even Regina smiled a bit.

Emma chuckled. “Just more time for video games, kid.” She missed playing games with him.

After breakfast, everyone moved to set about their day. Emma found herself upset to not be going with Regina. _Maybe in the future we can go in together_. She would make sure of that. For now, she had to go see Snow and David. She caught up with Regina for a second.

“Hey, I know this is uncomfortable for you,” Emma told her.

“I assure you it’s not,” Regina said, obviously trying to save face.

“Okay, it’s not,” Emma grinned. “But, I don’t want it to be weird.”

“It’s not,” Regina stated. This was the truth.

Emma thought it was odd that things were not odd, but Regina seemed to be acting like it was. She decided she would worry about it later. It was possible Regina was just bracing herself in case something went wrong. Emma would show her there was no reason for that. But, for now, they both had things to take care of, so she let Regina go to work and she went to see her parents.

When she arrived at their door, she almost used her key, but decided against it. Keys were for people who lived there. She knocked.

“Emma!” Snow grinned as she opened the door. Emma could not help thinking how that expression would not last long.

“Hey. Can I come in?” Emma asked, managing to sound almost normal, even though she felt nauseated. Not to mention, the question probably seemed ridiculous to Snow.

Snow’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Of course, come on.” She stepped out of the way and Emma stepped inside. Snow closed the door behind them.

“Is David around?” Emma asked, looking around the loft.

“I’m right here,” David replied, stepping into view. He rocked Neal in his arms. Neal looked like he was asleep. David smiled. “I’m glad to see you’re back to normal.”

Emma shook her head. “Not quite.” _I’m far from “normal” now_.

“Is there anything wrong, Emma?” Snow asked with concern.

“There’s plenty wrong, but thankfully there’s a lot of stuff right, too,” Emma answered, rubbing her head. Her hair fell in her face and she caught the scent of it. For a moment, she remembered Regina washing her hair and brushing it. She had enjoyed those things and was pretty sure Regina did, too.

“I don’t understand,” Snow said.

“We should sit down.” Emma pointed to the table.

David and Snow exchanged a look, but they made their way to the table. Emma followed them. They all sat down and there was an awkward silence between them for a moment. _Just do this like a band-aid. There’s no need to sugarcoat anything. They didn’t sugarcoat it when they dumped you on Regina’s couch, after all_.

“Here’s the thing,” Emma said, putting her hands together. “I like you guys a lot, I care about you. I even love you.” Her heart broke a little when Snow smiled, clearly not seeing the writing on the wall. David was a little more controlled, but she doubted he knew what was coming either. “I need you guys to understand this isn’t a slight against you or this isn’t because of magic or because I’m angry with you, but you need to understand from this moment on, I will never see you as my parents.”

“What?” David blurted with wide eyes. He stopped rocking Neal, who whined a bit.

“W-why?” Snow asked, face falling in despair.

Emma’s mouth ticked, but she managed to keep from scowling. _They’ve got fucking nerve to be questioning me_. After everything, she was the one who should be asking all of the questions. _How could you claim to love me and then leave me so many times? Do you even know what love is?_

“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t keep trying to please you only to have you abandon me time and time again. Okay, yeah, the first time when the Curse was coming, you thought the worst and shoved me into a tree to God only knows where. Whatever. But, in Neverland, you’re ready to freaking stay with him while sending me away?” Emma stared at Snow and shook her head. It was impossible to keep the frown off of her face now.

“He needed me,” Snow argued strongly, having the nerve to look shocked that this was even an issue.

“And what about when I need you?” Emma demanded, hitting the table with her fist. Neal cried out again, but she barely noticed. Her eyes narrowed on Snow and David. “Where the hell are you when I need you? It’s never about me with you, ever.” She pointed to herself. “And I’m not going to try to get your attention anymore. You regret not being able to raise me, but you’re ready to stay in a freaking jungle with him while he’s busy being an idiot and not telling us he’s dying.”

“Emma,” David scolded her, daring to frown at her while bouncing their replacement baby in his arms.

“No, you don’t get to use that tone with me because you’re just as bad. You get poisoned and you’re just willing to die? Is being my father such a burden you’d rather die?” Emma glared at him.

“Emma, it wasn’t about you,” he argued.

“Wasn’t it?” she hissed, seething that they would try to debate this again. “You’re supposed to be my parents and that means putting your child first, but you’ve never done that with me. It’s one goddamn abandonment after another. When the second curse came and you left for the Enchanted Forest, how long did you miss me before you thought, ‘we could just make another one, a better one’?”

“Emma, it wasn’t like that,” Snow tried to assure her, speaking in that sickening, damn near condescending coo of hers.

“Wasn’t it?” Emma snapped again, glaring Snow down. “This is your perfect child. Your little baby boy you get to raise, so he can be perfect, so he doesn’t have all of the problems I have, so he doesn’t get into the trouble that I do and you won’t have to abandon him or wish for a better one.”

“Emma, you can’t seriously think we’re trying to replace you,” David said.

“I think you only want me when it’s convenient for you. I’ve learned this past year that parenting isn’t like that. You can’t just keep me close when you want to.” Emma tapped the table with force once more. “That’s not even close to being a good parent.”

“We don’t do that,” Snow insisted. She leaned forward and for a moment, it looked like she was going to reach across the table. Emma glared at her hand and she wisely pulled back.

“Oh, no? You did it this past week. I needed you, but you didn’t have the time to deal with me, so what did you do? You threw me away, again. You don’t have to worry about doing that again. I’m an orphan. It’s that simple,” Emma said. It had to be that simple because she could not stand having parents anymore. Like she hid from them when she was six, she would avoid them now if they kept trying to be her “parents” because her heart could not take the pain anymore, could not shatter again. She would try to piece herself together as best she could and that could only happen with them at an acceptable distance.

“No, you’re not,” David stated in a forceful tone.

“Yes, I am. I won’t keep you from seeing Henry because you’re still his grandparents and I hope you won’t keep me from seeing Neal because he’s my brother, but I don’t consider you my parents anymore. My parents would’ve kept me as a kid,” Emma informed them. She was not sure if she meant last week or thirty years ago, but it did not even matter. They threw her away just as easily as every foster parent she ever had.

Snow shook her head and her eyes pleaded with Emma to understand her position. “We didn’t want you to hurt anyone. We knew how hurt you’d be if your magic went out of control and you hurt someone.”

Emma scoffed. “Bullshit. You didn’t want to deal with a kid who wasn’t practically perfect in everyway. I was upset. Why the hell didn’t you just try to calm me down?” _Regina did plenty to calm me down. It didn’t take a lot_. She had never wanted much, not now, not then.

“You wouldn’t be calm and you almost burned the kitchen down,” Snow pointed out.

“You blew up the sink,” David added.

“Yeah, and you were so worried about me hurting Neal that you shipped me off to Regina and then sent Henry over there. I can see you weren’t too worried about him,” Emma said, rolling her eyes.

“Sending Henry was the only way Regina would agree to watch you,” David replied.

“You’re missing the fucking point. Regina was willing to have me in her home with her son while my goddamn parents wouldn’t keep me around their son. I can’t even begin to describe to you what sort of experience that was,” Emma said, her voice cracking a bit. She forced herself to not tear up. She would not cry in front of them. They had not earned that. _Rejection doesn’t even begin to cover it. What the hell? I’d feel better if they just called me a fuck up to my face_. It would be more honest anyway.

“Is that what this is about? We’re sorry if Regina treated you poorly. She seemed to be doing well,” Snow said.

Emma laughed. “Regina was fucking awesome. You’re so impossible. I don’t think you’ll ever get it. You’ll come up with excuses from now until the day you die about how you were justified in doing what you did, every single time you do something fucked up. You’re the ones who are fucked up. Not me.” _Well, maybe we’re fucked up together, but I’m definitely not alone in this_.

“Emma,” David scolded her again, nodding toward the baby in his arms.

“Don’t worry. You won’t have to worry about my bad mouth. I’m going. Maybe one day, we can all be friends, but I’m not going to consider you my parents ever again,” Emma stated, pushing away from the table. She did not care how bad it sounded. Nothing could possibly be worse than them leaving her at Regina’s house and then acting like everything was fine. They lucked out that Regina was cool about it. Considering how pissed Regina was with her last week, she would have thought Regina would immediately take revenge on her, even if she was in kid form. Although having a bedtime of eight o’clock might have been revenge.

“Emma, you can’t do this!” Snow objected, chasing after her. She paused as Neal cried out, startled by her loud shout.

“Go see to the kid that matters. He needs both of you, after all. I don’t need either.” Emma marched to her room, wanting to collect her few belongings.

“Emma,” Snow whimpered. Emma ignored her.

-8-8-8-8-

Regina was completely distracted from her work, finding herself actually wondering what Emma was doing. She had come in earlier and almost pulled out crayons and a coloring book, but then remembered she did not have a six-year-old with her anymore. Camille thankfully did not comment on it; the girl was smart, which was one of the reasons why Regina had given her such an important job in the Curse.

“Maybe it is my biological clock,” Regina tried to convince herself, but she knew it was more than that. In caring for Emma, she learned that she cared _for_ Emma. The very idea was revolting.

She tried to convince herself that she only cared when Emma was a child, but she knew from her actions that morning it went beyond that. She did not know what to make of it, though. It was all so bemusing because she was certain this all started when Emma was a child, but there was something more now. She did not know what “more” could be, though. Or maybe she did not want to know what “more” could be.

“It has to be from when she was a child. It couldn’t have been there before that,” she tried to convince herself. But, it seemed like the more she told herself this, the more she feared it was a lie.

If she had not cared for Emma in the first place, she would not have taken her in. Yes, she had buried the hatchet with Snow and David and would do simple favors for them, but watching Emma had been more than that. She had not wanted Emma to suffer.

“But, I did want her to suffer, after what she did,” Regina muttered, frowning. Truthfully, she knew if she wanted Emma to suffer, Emma would have been suffering the moment everything happened. Instead, Regina ran off and brooded in her house. _Why?_

She hated knowing the answer to the question. She had cared about Emma. This was the woman who took care of Henry for a year, good care. Emma had helped her save the town from supposedly unstoppable destruction, move the moon to save Henry from Pan, and stood by her when everyone else thought she murdered the bug until Rumple stepped in to make matters difficult. Hell, she had taken in a death curse to save Emma. Sure, it was at the request of their son, but she almost died for the irksome blonde.

“I couldn’t have cared for her even back then, could I?” Regina wondered. She doubted she did, but it seemed odd that she would almost die for a woman she hated just because Henry asked her to save Emma. But, then again, Emma had stared down an angry mob for her at Henry’s request, which seemed just as preposterous as her inhaling a death curse because of their son.

Her concentration was shot for the day as she tried to put her emotions and thoughts in order. Returning home, Regina knew she had gotten no work done, even though she could not recall what she had done all day. She found herself fixing snacks for a child who was no longer there. Frowning, she leaned against the corner and growled. Henry came in just as she was about to throw them out.

“Oh, peanut butter rolls!” Henry grinned. Regina put them down on the counter and he retrieved chopsticks to dig in. “Did Emma turn back into a little kid?”

Regina shook her head. “No, I made them from habit.”

Henry laughed. “She trained you in a week, huh?”

Regina almost snapped at him, but remembered who he was just in time. Instead, she smiled. “You trained me in days.” _How could I disregard him while wallowing over Robin? Ridiculous_.

A bright smile shined in his eyes as he laughed again. “You’re a good mom, Mom. I’m sorry I didn’t appreciate you, but watching you with Emma this week, it makes me realize how lucky I’ve always been to have you.”

“Are you sure lucky is the word you want to use?” she asked with a teasing smile, even though she truly needed to know. She wanted to know he forgave her for the way she treated him in keeping those secrets, but also how she shut him out recently.

He nodded slightly. “I’m sure. Living in New York, it helped open my eyes some and I’ve also thought a lot about the people here. I know loving parents aren’t as easy to come by as they should be. You have a big heart. You make mistakes and you do things wrong, but people do. Through all of that, though, you always put me first.”

Regina smiled, happy he was all right with her, even though she knew she had made some rather big mistakes. “I’m supposed to put you first. I’m your mother.”

“And you’re a good one. You were great with Emma. I watched Grams and Gramps with her that first day and they looked so freaking lost. They didn’t know what to do when she started crying and throwing tantrums, but you jumped right into it.”

Regina scoffed. “It wasn’t that difficult. As I said, she just needed some attention.”

“Yeah, but they couldn’t figure that out. You did.”

Regina did not want to tell him why she understood what Emma needed as a child. Henry would not be able to comprehend, which was good. Despite everything Henry had gone through, he thankfully would never be able to fully understood neglect and the several different types of child abuse. Snow and David would not have been able to immediately figure what Emma needed for the same reasons. So, she did not fault them either, but they should have tried harder with Emma. No one should ever just give up on their child.

“You know… if you want to have another kid, I wouldn’t mind,” Henry said before picking up a peanut butter and jelly roll.

Regina’s jaw almost dislocated from how quickly her mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

His eyes sparkled as he tried to hold in a laugh, but failed. “If you want to have another kid. You really liked having Emma around. Maybe you should adopt another kid. I wouldn’t mind. It was fun being a big brother.”

“I’m fine, Henry.”

Henry sort of rocked his head from side to side, as if taking in this information and running it around his brain. Regina was not sure what conclusion he came to and he gave no hints as he changed the subject slightly.

“Do you think you would’ve been happier with a girl?” he asked before eating another roll.

Her eyebrows drew together. “Why would you ask that?”

He shrugged; it reminded her of Emma. “You seemed really happy with Emma… well, kid-Emma. I thought maybe you wish you had adopted a girl.”

“Henry.” Regina walked over to him and embraced him from behind. She rested her head on his shoulder, discovering he was almost her height. _My little prince isn’t so little anymore. He grew up so fast_. She sighed. “I will always be happy with you. There was never a time when I wish I had adopted any other child. I’ve always been happy with you and I will always be happy with you.”

He smiled and patted her arm. “Okay. I thought maybe… you know… I mean, you dressed her up in nice clothes.” He chuckled at this, all too aware of how silly he sounded.

Stepping away, Regina arched an eyebrow. “I never dressed you in nice clothes?” Henry always had a wardrobe with her. He had a collection of shoes and ties, as well, but he had stopped wearing most of those things when he could dress himself. He had developed a love of t-shirts when he discovered comic books.

Dipping his head, he smiled a little again. “Okay, never mind. But, I think you might like having a daughter. You were really good with Emma.”

Regina shook her head. “I was just taking care of her for the week. You’re reading too much into it.” _I don’t need nor want another child… right?_ She had worried this whole thing had been due to her biological clock and now she was worried it was due to unrecognized emotions toward Emma, but she was not sure that discounted her first theory.

He did not say anything, but the smirk on his face said he thought otherwise. “Where is Emma, anyway? Is she coming back?”

“I’m sure she is.” Of course, Emma should have been back by then.

As night came and drew on, Emma still did not show up. They had dinner and still no Emma. Henry looked at the clock every few minutes. Regina still felt like Emma would return, but Henry feared she had run off.

“You know how she feels about weird magic stuff, Mom. She was going to take me back to New York because of the memory stuff,” he reminded her.

Regina almost frowned, but caught herself. “I doubt she’d run off and not say anything to you, dear. We both know this isn’t the same Emma who first came to Storybrooke. She’s your mother.” It surprisingly did not hurt to say that aloud.

Sighing, Henry nodded. “You wouldn’t leave without me, right?”

“I wouldn’t and neither would she. But, if it makes you feel any better, we can go out and look for her tomorrow if she doesn’t come back by then. She probably just needs some time and space to think about what happened.”

This appeased him enough to go to bed. Even though Emma was a runner, Regina was certain she would be back. There was a real mother in Emma now as well and Emma would never be able to leave Henry behind, especially not after what she had been through. 

-8-8-8-8-

Regina was awakened as the bed depressed. Emma climbed over her and settled on what was “her side” from the few days she spent there as a child. She cuddled up next to Regina as if it was something she did every night. Regina did not say anything because this felt right. She enjoyed being held and holding Emma. _Okay, so maybe these feelings were there before Emma turned into a child. Dammit_.

“Where have you been?” Regina asked curiously, her voice low and a little gruff from sleep.

“Getting my head together, breaking up with Hook, even though I didn’t think there was anything there to break up, but he thought otherwise, and telling my parents I don’t consider them parents,” Emma answered.

“Ah, so making good use of your time.” This smartass response was out of her mouth before she realized and she hoped it did not make matters worse. While she would rather pretend none of this ever happen and therefore keep the status quo and have everything in its proper place, she was not sure she could and she doubted Emma wanted to, considering how busy her day was.

“Of course you would say that.” Emma’s tone was more playful than anything else. “None of them got why I was doing any of that stuff, either.”

“Of course not,” Regina commented. Snow and Charming were too simple and Hook was too arrogant, so nothing could ever be their faults.

“Of course not? You really think my parents don’t get they’ve abandoned me a bunch of times and even replaced me?” Emma asked with a furrowed brow, turning to face Regina, who was on her back.

Regina almost smiled when she saw the expression. She was still adorable when confused. _Dammit, okay, so it probably wasn’t my biological clock_. Sighing, Regina decided to not think about it anymore.

“From their perspective, they’ve saved you several times,” Regina said, knowing this to be true.

Emma frowned. “Do you think that’s true? I overreacted?”

“No, I don’t think you did and your emotions are your own anyway. Do you want me to be honest?” Regina asked because she would lambaste the Charmings and the pirate from now until the sun rose if she was allowed to. Hell, even if she were not allowed to, she would do it eventually. Right now, though, she did not want to trouble Emma more so than she was already.

“Please.”

Turning onto her side a little, Regina faced Emma. “Whatever you said to your parents, you had a right to say, just like you had a right to hide from them the day they came here and like you had a right to leave that day on the pier. You have a right to your emotions and to feel what you feel, no matter what they say or how they view things. Those people… they didn’t know what to do with you and they didn’t try. You were no longer theirs once they put you through that tree.” Regina would not apologize for her hand in that. She did not make their decisions.

Emma frowned more and cuddled in closer to Regina. Regina realized Emma sought comfort and security in her. This should have bothered her, but it did not. She wondered if it was because little Emma had done so just yesterday or because she truly did not mind adult Emma burrowing in deep. _Do I actually like this?_ Part of her feared she did, but the action itself kept her calm and relaxed. It was like Emma belonged there, like Regina had longed to have her there and now the wait was finally over.

“They act like it’s my fault. The tree, in Neverland, in the confession cave or whatever the hell it was, the second curse, and now. It’s never their fault, so something must be wrong with me. Something’s wrong with me, so they send me back,” Emma grumbled.

Regina knew those last words were directed at more than Emma’s parents, or at the very least every set of parents Emma had ever had. They always sent her back or sent her away. Regina pulled her just a little closer.

“Nothing is wrong with you, Emma. They couldn’t handle you. None of them could handle you. They expected the perfect child, but children aren’t perfect. Do you know, when I got Henry, all he did was cry? I blamed him at first because it was easier. No one wants to admit they’re so broken even a child can tell, so I shifted the blame. He was broken and I considered sending him back.”

Emma’s eyes went wide and she gasped. “You did?”

Sighing, Regina managed to keep a straight face. “I did, but as you can see I kept him. I couldn’t give up on him and even if it was him, I wanted to do everything in my power to make things better for my son. He was so colicky. He cried for months before I could finally soothe him,” she reported. Just remembering it made her a little misty.

Regina could not believe she had almost given up on Henry, all because looking after him was hard. No one who raised a child would think it was supposed to be easy. Now, she could not imagine giving up on him for anything. Hopefully, he did not ever get too out of control because she would go down with that ship.

“But, you didn’t send him back,” Emma said, a little smile in her voice.

Absently, Regina stroked Emma’s hair. It was soft and felt like silk. She wanted to brush it again. Maybe one day she would be allowed to do just that.

“I didn’t, but when I was going to, like I said, I assumed he was broken. But, children cry. It’s what they do, especially babies. I just needed to realize that. All too often, people don’t stop to realize what children need and what they do just because they’re children. You threw tantrums because you were a child and you wanted attention. Your parents didn’t stop to think about that. They saw sparks and they saw the tantrum and after a while their immediate thought was something was wrong with you, but again, you were just a child. You had a child’s needs. Something was wrong with _them_.”

Emma tensed, like she did not expect to hear those words. “Something couldn’t have been wrong with all of them. I mean, I was the common denominator.”

“Be that as it may, they didn’t have the patience for a child. You said you had already gone through three families before the Charmings. They didn’t have the patience. I’m sure they saw your bedwetting and need for attention as an annoyance. They wanted the perfect little blonde child, but there is no perfect child as there is no perfect human. We are all flawed.”

Emma nodded against her shoulder. “You always know the right thing to say now.”

Regina sighed. “I guess… it’s the admission that we are all flawed. You are flawed, Miss Swan. I cannot begrudge you this any longer. But, beware, as the path to Hell is paved with good intentions. Your parents behavior with you should be the star case.”

Emma scoffed. “What good intentions?”

“Did they not intent good things when they left you here?”

“I guess that’s true. Regina…”

“Yes?”

“Can I stay here?”

Regina’s brow furrowed. She could have sworn they had this conversation already. “I believe we went through this. Has the magic turned your brain into mush? Oh, wait, it was already like that, was it not?”

Chuckling, Emma sat up just enough to look Regina dead in the eye. Regina could see a swirl of emotions, emotions she knew Emma could not have possibly sorted out yet. Regina felt her own torrent raging throughout her body. Perhaps, once she got used to Emma being back to normal, everything would settle and she would figure out.

“No, can I stay _here_?” Emma repeated. She then did something that made her words much clearer, but did nothing for their emotions. Her eyes fell to Regina’s lips and she placed a tender, rather chaste kiss to Regina’s mouth. She slid a hand up Regina’s chest, covering her heart. “Can I stay _here_?” Could she stay in Regina’s arms, in her heart?

Regina sighed, there was only one answer. “You may.”

“I knew it. It’s because you think I’m so cute, right?” Emma grinned, trying to cut through the raw emotion now with her rather thin wit. This would be Henry soon enough.

Regina rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You are nothing of the sort.”

“Oh, you thought I was adorable yesterday,” Emma laughed and Regina groaned. “Did I just make it weird?”

Regina turned away. “Go to sleep, sweetling.” She felt Emma settle against her body.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: a rather long epilogue to wrap things up.


	5. The Swan Princess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t own these characters.
> 
> A/N: without giving away the chapter, I would like to apologize in advance for anyone who thinks it’s cheesy.

5: The Swan Princess

3 years later… 

Regina awoke first as always. It was easy to detach herself from Emma as she was often the big spoon. She did not mind, finding it better to hold than to be held, even though she did not mind being held. The fact that the ultra-independent sheriff allowed herself to be held by Regina and found safety in her arms was an added bonus. Regina doubted she would grow weary of holding the younger woman.

Over the years, her emotions had ordered themselves in a way she saw coming, but fought against every step of the way… sort of. It was hard to say she fought when she let Emma live there and stay in her bed until Emma found it within herself to move out, which lasted all of six months. While Emma had been moved out, she still sought Regina out and they still spent time together. Regina had not known it at the time, had not realized it, but she had been dating Emma Swan. She had gotten to know the woman who grew up from the six-year-old that had enchanted her for a week. And, may the gods help her, she found she liked the woman… to a degree.

She and Emma still had spats and sometimes all out verbal battles, but it was the way they communicated. They did their best to keep their verbal combat between the two of them, but sometimes Henry overheard. She had spoken to him early on because he had been scared they would fall back into older habits – Emma would leave and Regina would pluck out hearts and cast curses. Of course, none of those things would happen, but fear was not rational, especially in a teenage boy.

She needed to make sure Henry understood they were two very dysfunctional people and a real relationship should not work like this; after all, she had never argued so much with Daniel. Of course, she had not been with him as long as she had Emma, but that was neither here nor there as far as she was concerned. Emma was the same, finding she had never argued with a partner so much, but she did not have any positive relationships to back up her words. Over time, the fighting had lessened, but it was still passionate. They still did their best not to argue in front of Henry, even though he seemed to ignore them most of the time they were upset with each other anyway.

When not arguing, Emma remained her “sweetling.” She knew the term of endearment bolstered Emma, so she used it to chase away despair, to strengthen her warrior, and remind Emma she was loved despite the many screw ups she had already done and would do in the future. Of course, she was still reprimanded to the tune of a sharp “Miss Swan,” even though the moniker was highly inaccurate now.

Regina left the room to get ready for the day and prepare breakfast. On her way downstairs, she poked her head into Henry’s room. It was a pigsty, which she was told to expect of a fifteen-year-old boy, but she still was not ready. She would force him to clean it later, which would consist of him shoving everything under the bed; it was a trick he started at seven. For now, she watched him sleep, laid flat out on his bed and snoring slightly. She smiled.

She looked into the room across him next. There was no clutter or snoring, just a tiny body tucked into a fetal position holding a plush duck for dear life on her small canopy bed. Golden hair was fanned out over a fluffy pillow. Another smile settled on her face and then she went to make breakfast. Emma would make sure they got down on time.

Breakfast was barely on the table before Regina heard the clamor of the Mills’ clan charging downstairs. Everyone was fully dressed and all of their clothing was pressed and neat thanks to Regina. Emma held Odette’s hand and heaved her into her usual chair at the table. 

“Morning, Mommy,” Odette grinned.

“Good morning, cherub,” Regina replied and leaned down to kiss Odette’s cheek. She moved onto kiss Henry’s forehead. Henry grunted. “What happened to the son who was a morning person with me?” she sighed. Henry only frowned.

“This is what happens when you turn into a teenager. You need, like, twenty hours of sleep,” Emma joked. Henry gave them a dazed nod of agreement.

“You’ll wake up once you eat,” Regina said. Henry just nodded again. It was true that he needed more sleep than he used to, but it might have been that he stayed up later than he used to. Whatever the case, breakfast usually woke him up completely. But, then again, once he was awake, he then ate like a starving man.

“We should start giving him coffee,” Emma suggested with a grin. She had been transformed into a morning person through her environment, but she still required coffee to keep her going.

“So, he can just have caffeine crashes at night like you, dear?” Regina inquired with a smirk and arched eyebrow. “Because we all know, you don’t exactly fall asleep as much as you lapse into a withdrawal coma.”

Odette giggled because she seemed to always take Regina’s side in these things, even when she had no clue what was going on. There was only so much a four-year-old could understand, after all.

“Hey, what have I told you about aligning yourself with your Mommy?” Emma poked the child in the side and earned another titter.

“Mommy and Mama are funny,” Odette stated with a clap.

“Hilarious,” Henry said dryly. He had already devoured half of his breakfast while they sat there talking. “Ma, don’t forget, driving lessons after school.”

Emma’s face scrunched up. “Not me, your mom.” She pointed to Regina. “I’m taking Odette to hang out with Alex and Neal.” She turned to Regina. “Right?”

“That is correct,” Regina confirmed. “Odette has a play date, Henry, so you’ll be driving with me today.” He groaned loudly in complaint and Emma laughed. “Miss Swan,” she said, not wanting Emma to encourage his poor behavior.

Emma rolled her eyes. “Miss Swan,” she muttered mockingly, making a face. Odette laughed again and Emma winked at her. “You drive like an old lady, which is why he doesn’t want to drive with you.”

“And you make me nervous about everything,” Henry admitted, throwing his hands up.

“Well, you should be. Being behind the wheel of a car is a huge responsibility,” Regina argued.

Henry waved her off, having heard all of this before. Regina did not mind that he preferred driving with Emma. Honestly, it made her anxious to be in the car with him behind the wheel. Emma seemed to be able to handle it no problem, but there was no way she would be the one to take Odette to her play date. While Snow and David were not a problem, Cinderella and her husband still held a grudge, like most of the town. _Stubborn jackasses_ , the lot of them.

“Odie, when you can drive, let Ma teach you,” Henry told his little sister.

“Don’t call her that,” Regina objected. She knew it was the name of some cartoon dog and the last thing she wanted was for anyone to assume Odette was named after a dog.

“Odie!” Odette cheered.

“I’m completely surrounded,” Regina muttered, shaking her head.

“Ah, but you love it,” Emma said, moving to give Regina a soft kiss. “I’ll see you at lunch. If nothing too drastic happens, we can swap Odie.”

Regina glared. “Stop calling her that.” Emma only smiled.

-8-8-8-8-

Emma made her way into Granny’s a little earlier than she needed to, but this just meant she had a chance to down some hot chocolate before Regina showed up to tease her about it. Ruby noticed her come in alone and worked on the cup before she even sat down. She might actually have time to finish it. The thought should not have brought her so much glee, she figured, as she sat down at a table.

“Where’s your mini-me?” Ruby asked as she slid the mug in front of Emma.

“She spent the morning with Regina, so they’ll be swaggering in together,” Emma answered and then took a long swig of her hot chocolate.

“Are they wearing matching outfits today?” Ruby grinned.

Emma laughed. Every now and then, Regina dressed Odette in miniature versions of her clothes or even Emma’s clothes. Everyone got a kick out of it, Odette especially. Actually, Emma was not sure who loved matching outfits more – Regina or Odette.

“No, they’re not. I dressed her today, so Odie looks like a regular kid and not a three foot high boss bitch,” Emma replied with a fond smile.

“I know Regina kills you with her eyes every time you call her Odie,” Ruby chuckled.

“Hey, I named her. I can call her any damn thing I want,” Emma joked. She would never say this to Regina, of course.

She had, in fact, named Odette. Years ago, when the town tried to settle into being a regular town, she learned they brought some of the worst habits with them from the Enchanted Forest. Parents abandoned children in the woods like it was going out of style. In their first quiet month, Emma had been called about no less than three children left to… she guessed die… in the woods. Parents could not feed or afford or just did not want their children and left them all over the place, but the woods was the preferred dumping grounds.

Odette was one of those children. Not the first, though. The first few, Emma tried to return to their parents, too stupid to realize they abandoned those kids on purpose, left them to die on purpose. This horrified her and she quickly proposed a safe haven act and learned there were perks to sleeping with the then mayor. Regina approved the bill so fast Emma thought there would be scorch marks on it.

Odette had been left in the park, just before the Safe Haven law went into effect, which allowed people to leave children up to the age of five at hospitals, the fire station, and even the sheriff’s office without any questions asked. Emma thought it was shame they had to go up to the age of five, but Regina assured her if they did not put an age on it, someone would leave a teenager at the hospital and if they went too young a bunch of toddlers would be lost in the woods. Emma believed her considering the kids she had seen abandoned. She could only wonder what type of people did this. Who abandoned Odette in the park? Who left a baby to die? Thankfully, almost all abandoned children were reported and found before the worst happened.

There was a call about Odette being left in the park on a cold day and when Emma saw her, she laughed. Odette was blonde with green eyes, like Emma’s kindred spirit. She had to show the child to Regina, so she called Regina once she got to the hospital. Regina smiled and cooed at the baby. Emma could only wonder why someone would leave such a perfect kid, but Regina was the one who figured out why someone would abandon Odette rather quickly. The baby had hearing problems. Not perfect. 

Unlike the other kids, who might never be claimed by their parents, but probably would be adopted or at least taken in by decent people, Regina told her Odette would not experience this. While the old world could tolerate a mute, deaf and blind people were pariahs. Those senses were essential and without them a person was seen as useless. And while Odette was not completely deaf, she was close enough.

Emma hated to see Regina was right. No one fawned over Odette like they did the other kids. No one bothered to see her or cuddle her. Well, no one but Regina and Emma anyway. Henry got curious about her and he would visit her, too, but they were the only ones.

Of course, Henry was the one to talk them into adopting Odette after pointing out how often his mothers visited her. He was sold when he found out Emma named her, finding it hard to be use the term “kid” as an actual name. Odette fit her, Emma looked it up; it meant “wealthy one.” Maybe the townsfolk did not know it, but Odette was wealthy, loved by Emma, Regina, and Henry. She was a part of their family before they realized it, but once Henry mentioned adoption, it seemed like the obvious thing.

By then, she and Regina were already married, so it seemed like a good idea at the time. Of course, it led to Henry teasing them about being “U-haul” lesbians even more. Regina, thankfully, did not get it and Emma threatened to take his phone and his computer, so he could stop talking to his New York friends and learning terrible habits. One day, it was going to bite him in the ass because Regina would figure out what he was talking about.

“I’m going to bring Belle by Safe Place if that’s cool,” Ruby said as Emma took another gulp of hot chocolate. Emma grunted as it burned her throat and Ruby laughed. “You don’t have to drink it like she’s going to snatch it from you the moment she walks in.”

Emma scoffed. “You never know with her.”

Ruby laughed again. “You’re awful. I don’t see how the hell you two stand each other with the way you go on about her and how she swears you’re incompetent.”

Emma smiled a bit, love swelling in her heart. She and Regina were horrible most of the time, as far as people could see, but their back and forth amused them. Maybe others could not tell, but whenever she and Regina got into it with each other, there was a light in their eyes. She could feel a tug inside of her and she knew Regina felt the tug, too. It pulled them closer together… and they just made even more fun of each other.

“Anyway, so like I said, I’m bring Belle with me to Safe Place,” Ruby stated once more.

Emma shrugged. “As long as you don’t bring Gold, I’m sure Regina won’t mind. She won’t tell you, but she loves it when you guys come and read to the kids.”

Ruby grinned. “It’s fun. I like them.”

“You should take one home with you.”

Ruby snickered. “Granny would kill me and I damn sure don’t make enough money doing this job to get my own place. But, you just reminded me, I promised to take Amber to the mall this weekend.”

“How is your mini-me?” Emma asked. Amber was a little girl, age nine, at Safe Place that Ruby jokingly said imprinted on her. Emma felt like that was the solid truth.

Safe Place was an organization and home that now housed all of the abandoned children of Storybrooke. It was like a group home, but so much more, and so much bigger. Emma and Regina had started it, but Regina now ran the day to day operations after losing her bid for reelection a couple of years ago. Emma was certain this work fulfilled Regina more than being mayor ever did, but Regina was a sore loser and would run again until she eventually won back her throne, as she often put it.

For now, Regina ruled over a sprawling campus of abandoned children and Lost Boys. She made sure they went to school and got proper meals. She had volunteers come in to work with them. She made sure they had recreation space, as well as games inside. She arranged social events to help the children know their community as well as have the community know them. Thanks to her efforts, people came by often, if not to adopt children or foster them, then to at least visit with the ones they had grown close to, like Ruby had.

“Amber is great. Regina okayed it for her to stay with me this weekend. So, we’re going to do some shopping and go to the movies. Fun stuff,” Ruby answered with a grin and a little bounce in her step.

“Enjoy, Mama wolf,” Emma teased.

Ruby only grinned and then had to get back to work. Emma thought it was wonderful that Ruby had taken to Safe Place the way that she did. She was attached to many of the children, but like a lot of people who frequented the place, she had one special child. For her, it was Amber. Belle had one as well, a bookish little boy with thick glasses named Jake. Several other friends went to Safe Place often and were the same.

Emma was glad that Ruby remained her friend since she had lost quite a few after people realized she and the Charming family had a split. It was not so bad that she lost her bid for reelection as sheriff, but all of the dwarves looked at her with a tilt and she could not walk past the convent without the nuns glaring at her, except Tink, who Emma felt should be struck by lightning just for daring to put on a habit. It was hard to claim to be a nun, even in the strange way the fairies did, when Tinkerbell’s best friend remained Regina, despite the rough waters they had when Tink fought out Regina would not fight for Robin Hood.

“Speaking of Mama wolf,” Ruby said, nodding toward the front door.

Emma turned just in time to see Regina and Odette enter. Odette giggled at the bell chime. Not too long ago, she could not hear it, but Regina had researched like crazy when Odette first entered their lives and found the best hearing specialists on the east coast to take care of Odette. There were a lot of trips out of town, but the last one resulted in Odette getting implants to hear things that were at least close by. Regina, ever the worrywort, was not sure if that would be enough and was already learning sign language, just in case. Emma figured she would learn if necessary, but the implants seemed to be doing their job.

“Mama!” Odette cried as she hugged Emma around the legs. She was loud, always had been and probably always would be.

Emma laughed and hugged Odette back, picking her up. “How’s my little duckling?”

“I’m fine and so is Duckie,” Odette declared, holding out the plushie.

“I’m glad. You have to take good care of Duckie. He’s the holder of all the secrets.” Emma smiled. From the moment she first saw Regina whisper to the little plush toy, she had truly believed he listened to everything. Until the moment she gave it to Odette, Emma had used the toy to tell her fears, insecurities, and worries to until she could share them, usually with Regina. It was amazing the things that stuck to a six-year-old, even when the child was an adult.

“I know. He’s still keeping the secret of who ate all the cookies,” Odette said with a grin.

Regina gave her a look before leaning in to give Emma a kiss on the cheek. “Believe me, that’s no secret,” she said with a smirk.

“Why is it always me? Henry is, like, six feet now and a bottomless pit. Why do you never believe he eats everything?” Emma pretended to huff as they sat down at a booth. Odette was situated next to Emma, on the outside, so Ruby could get to the kid easily, and probably tickle her when she least expected it. It also allowed Odette easy access to the remains of Emma’s hot chocolate, which she wasted no time drinking.

“Because Henry is fifteen and leaves evidence trails in the forms of crumbs and garbage. When there is no evidence, it is evidence,” Regina said, eyes tracking Odette’s movements with the mug.

“Then I’m just going to stop picking up after myself,” Emma stated with a shrug.

Odette gasped, eyes wide with horror. “No, Mama. That’s a not a good move.”

Her parents smiled at the words. The term had stuck with Emma from her time as a child with Regina and she found herself using it when disciplining Henry one day, causing him to look at her as if she had gone mad. Once they both got over the shock, they silently decided to go with it. Regina joined in and they all used more when Odette came along, finding it easier than scolding her or making her think she had done something bad. She understood it much better than being told she had done something bad, as well. Sometimes, the adults even found themselves using the term with each other.

“Yes, sweetling, I believe that would not be a good move,” Regina concurred with a wicked purr.

Emma sighed and her shoulders slumped. “You don’t fight fair.” She would do anything Regina wanted when she called her sweetling.

“We established that a long time ago and yet you married me anyway,” Regina remarked with a smirk.

“I was half-out of my mind when that happened,” Emma teased. “I mean, that explains why I took your last name, huh?”

Regina did not answer that one. Only Emma was allowed to poke fun at this particular thing, like a few other things in their lives. Her surname “Swan” had come from her first family that she thought would be her forever family, but obviously that had not panned out. This was her forever family, so she was more than happy to be Emma Mills. They were the Mills family.

“I’ve packed everything you should need for her play date,” Regina said, passing Emma the “baby bag,” which was a regular, but stylish, black leather satchel. Emma wondered how long they would need a “baby bag.” Knowing Regina, Odette would have a “baby bag” until she was fifteen. Knowing Odette, she would not care, as long as her Mommy thought it was a brilliant idea.

“Regina, it’s just playing in a park. She doesn’t need things,” Emma argued. She wanted their kid to run, jump, play, skin her knees, and things like that, which Odette did often with her.

“Yeah, I do!” Odette declared, puffing out her chest.

Regina smiled. “There’s water, juice, snacks, and a change of clothes.”

Emma silently conceded, they might need those things. Odette tore through clothes like nobody’s business when she was with Emma. Maybe it was because Emma was always the one that took her to the park. Of course, Regina took her out for outdoor, active activities, too, and somehow her clothing remained intact, which Regina never failed to point out.

“Could you back me up, just once?” Emma pretended to pout at Odette.

“But, Mommy’s always right! Except when she’s not,” the little girl replied.

Emma laughed and she looked at Regina, thinking back to three years ago when Regina knew everything she needed. “Yeah, she is,” she agreed in a low tone.

“Emma…” Regina paused as Ruby brought over their usual lunch orders.

“Hey, duckling,” Ruby said, leaning down to kiss Odette’s forehead.

Odette giggled. “My ribbons!”

“I’m careful of your ribbons as always, duckling. I imagine your Mommy wouldn’t be too happy with me if I ruined your pretty hair,” Ruby commented and then threw a wink Regina’s way. Regina rolled her eyes.

Ruby merely grinned. She was Odette’s godmother and often watched the child when Henry was too busy being a cool teenager and Emma and Regina wanted a quiet night.

Ruby turned her attention back to Odette and she tweaked her nose. “You be good when you go play with my main man, Neal. No roughhousing.”

Odette gave a grin, which they all knew meant no good. Instead of telling a fib, Odette began eating. Ruby smiled down at her and rubbed her head again, mussing her golden curls and sliding one of her ribbons down. She made sure to pat everything down, though, and fix the ribbon. Regina would have a fit if Odette’s hair was messed up in public.

“Don’t give your grandparents any problems either,” Ruby said before walking off.

Emma tensed at the mention of “grandparents.” Regina reached over and the table, taking Emma’s hand in her own. Emma sighed at the contact, her safe place.

“You don’t have to interact with them, only your brother,” Regina said.

Emma nodded. The only reason she agreed to meet with Snow and David was to see Neal. She still considered him her brother, even if she did not consider them her parents. Years later, they still did not seem to accept it. It made things tough when she worked with David, but now she worked for him. He had been the one to win the mayoral election. Suffice to say, it did not make him or Snow more tolerable, for her or Regina, especially when they tried to boot Regina out of the mayoral mansion. Turned out, the mansion was only “mayoral” when Regina was the mayor. Any other time, it was just Regina’s house, said so right there on the deed. Some Storybrooke denizens did not agree with that, but they could not do anything about it.

“I thought we’d make good friends,” Emma sighed, swallowing around a lump in her throat. It was surprising that even now the rejection of even friendship from the Charmings hurt. It was all or nothing with them and she took nothing because there was no “all.”

“I, for one, am happy you didn’t make good friends with Charming. I can just imagine the so-called fun you’d have.” Regina rolled her eyes. “I don’t need that headache.” She made show of flipping her hair.

Emma chuckled, but this was one of the reasons it actually hurt. She would have loved to be David’s friend. They were so similar. There were so many adventures to be had, silly things to do, and so much trouble to get into.

But, Ruby filled the same role and laughed with her. Ruby did not condescend to her either. And, she had made a few other friends, like Prince Philip, who was like David, but not her biological father and therefore less protective and preachy. He was fun, as was Prince Thomas. Mulan enjoyed her company. So, she had friends. But, the estrangement was still weird.

“You’re still sore about the bug being parked on the lawn, huh?” Emma grinned.

“I still don’t understand why you allowed Philip to drive. The man can barely mount a horse,” Regina sighed.

Emma continued to grin. “You’d think driving a car would be simpler, wouldn’t you?”

“I think you should learn to choose a better quality of companionship.”

Emma just smiled. They had their usual lunch and caught up with each other’s day. She was not surprised to find Odette had spent the day taking Regina from her work, pulling her to interact with the children at Safe Place. Regina acted like she resented it, but Emma knew she loved it. Regina loved mothering people. Emma supposed it came from a longing to have her own mother take care of her, but she never voiced that opinion. She doubted Regina ever analyzed and it would not help to start. After their lunch, Emma left with Odette.

“Hey, Odie!” Robin Hood slapped the child a high-five when she came into the station with Emma.

“Odie, the only toddler with street cred,” Emma chuckled. “You finished your rounds?” she asked Robin.

“All quiet as always. Mulan called in. She’s sick,” Robin reported.

“I told her not to trust that takeout,” Emma said as she went to her office.

“You and everybody else. Her and her iron stomach,” Robin scoffed.

The sheriff’s station had grown to hold three deputies. Mulan and Little John had the night shift. They were cool and Emma liked working with them, Mulan especially. Mulan was probably going to be out for a few days because Emma was certain she had food poison. One of the Merry Men might stand in for Mulan or a couple of the older Lost Boys. Emma was never short of volunteers to help the station. Robin worked with Emma on the day shift.

At first, she honestly disliked the guy, but it was just because he dated Regina. Getting to know him, she was all right with him now. It was nice to know he did not bear any grudge against her for pushing Roland when she was a child. It actually helped because a few days later he had come to talk to Regina, trying to clear the air between them. It took some time, but it worked. Sometimes, Odette even hung out with Roland, even though he was twice her age. Robin had another son, but he was only two. Eventually, Odette would probably be friends with him as well.

“Did you have a good time with your mothers?” Robin asked Odette, taking her by the hand to get her into trouble around the station. This would give Emma a chance to do some paperwork.

“It was the best! Aunt Ruby was there, too!” Odette replied.

Emma listened to Odette giggle. The sound put a smile on Emma’s face. The sound of her children laughing always made it seem like light hugged her heart. Actually, her family’s laughter did this because hearing Regina laugh was like having the heavens shine on her.

After her shift was over, Emma took Odette to the park for her play date. She ran off to play with Neal and Alexandria. Emma went over to Thomas and Cinderella, who she still called Ashley. She and Thomas did a fist bump while she hugged Ashley. She nodded to Snow and David, who were on the opposite end of the bench.

“Let me go run amongst the goobers and then I want to talk about us tricking Regina into babysitting this Saturday,” Emma said. It would teach her to imply Emma got into trouble while hanging out with her friends.

Thomas and Ashley laughed. Emma gave out crushing hugs to Neal and Alex before she ran after the kids for almost a half-hour before sitting back down. Her friends were talking to Snow and David, so she took that time to catch her breath.

“So, I was telling David about going out Saturday,” Thomas said. Emma snorted and rolled her eyes.

“He’s acting like you were planning a guys’ night,” Ashley huffed, pretending to be offended.

Emma chuckled. It was funny how it was a “guys’ night” when she hung out with Thomas and Philip, even though Mulan was usually there, too. Of course, when it was just them, they tended to do things that resulted in her car being parked on the lawn. Strangely enough, this never happened when Ashley or Belle was there.

“That’s all right. We wouldn’t want Regina watching Neal anyway,” David said.

Emma bit her tongue from saying something biting. David and Snow acted like Regina would steal Neal if she was in his company. But, then again, they seemed to think Regina stole Emma from them. It had ruined a lot of the progress Regina had made with her parents, but Regina did not seem to mind.

“Your loss. I swear, we left Alex with her one day and she suddenly knew how to bake cupcakes,” Ashley joked.

“Does she know how to conduct a proper tea party? Because that’s Odie’s thing. Heaven help you if you use the wrong spoon, sit in the wrong seat, or bite the scone before time.” Emma made a fist and raised it high.

Thomas smiled. “She’ll be a trip when she gets older. I hope they’re best friends.”

Emma nodded. “Me, too. They’re already a terror.”

“Unless they’re with Regina. She’s trained ‘em well,” Ashley laughed and then made a whip noise.

“They’re debutants with her,” Thomas said, putting his chin in the air. “If Storybrooke keeps it’s high society, when they come out, it’ll be hilarious.”

“I can already hear Odie screaming at the top of her lungs and Alex encouraging her by asking her to repeat herself every three seconds,” Ashley chuckled.

“You can’t seriously believe Odette would be a debutant,” Snow suddenly said.

“Why not? Her mother was the queen and the former mayor and her other mother is a princess. It seems like a given,” Ashley pointed out.

“And, even I, a crown prince, feel classless when standing next to her in her suits with her purse,” Thomas added with a grin.

Emma glared and Snow shook her head, wisely keeping her mouth shut. One of the reasons Emma had not made up with Snow yet was Odette. While Snow was not mean to the child in any way and seemed to consider Odette as a grandchild, she treated Odette so completely different from other children because of the hearing problems. Odette did not need to be treated like something was wrong with her or as if she was made of glass. Okay, she had trouble hearing, but it did not slow her down. If it were up to Snow, Odette would have been locked in her room and her room would have been wrapped in plastic or padded as if Odette were in an asylum.

“Shouldn’t you just be more careful with her?” David asked. This question came up more often than Emma would ever like.

“Odie’s fine,” Emma replied, waving him off. She wished they would just shut up about it. Odette was perfectly fine and a regular kid, doing regular kid things. In fact, Odette was currently swinging from the monkey bars right along with her best friend and her uncle.

“You won’t be if Regina knows you’re the one who started this Odie thing,” Ashley teased.

Emma’s eyes narrowed and she pointed at Ashley. “If you dare tell her that, I will never babysit for you again.” She could imagine Regina’s wrath and it was not pretty. Ashley held up her hands in surrender.

“She’s not fine. She could get hurt out here. You shouldn’t just have her out like this,” Snow argued, motioning to the playground. The kids all seemed fine, racing each other down the slides now.

“No, I should have just left her in the woods where I found her, right?” Emma snapped. This ended conversation between them for a while.

They focused on the children, watching poor Neal be terrorized by the two girls, who were an unstoppable duo. They chased him around and took his turn on the slides, poked him while he was on the monkey bars, and tried to tickle him whenever they could. Neal liked the attention and was used to the torment, so he was a good sport about it all. Emma hoped to God he grew out of it or she was certain he would end up dating some very weird women when he was older. 

“So, yeah, David, you should come out with us,” Thomas said, trying to get them through the awkwardness. This was the trouble when Emma shared friends with Snow and David. Thankfully, Ruby at least did not try to mediate. Ruby just split her time, claiming she understood where Emma was coming from, but she loved Snow no matter what.

“I’ve got work to do. The town was left in a mess after those goblins came through,” David replied.

“That was, like, four months ago,” Thomas pointed out.

David just glared at him, as if that answered the question. Emma knew what was on Thomas’ mind because it was on hers as well – Regina would have cleaned this up months ago. They had seen evidence of that when a group of death worms somehow ended up in the sewers a couple of years ago. Regina had that in hand before regular citizens knew there were death worms in the realm. There were other bits of evidence as well. As it turned out, when Regina got enough space and time, she was a fairly effective mayor, especially since she was trying. David was not a fan of having to live up to her since he felt she usurped her power in the Enchanted Forest. Emma did not care about that.

“How’s Safe Place going?” Ashley asked, once again trying to get through the awkwardness.

Emma smiled. “It’s doing good.” Then she shook her head. “I’m surprised at home many kids we have. I never thought when we started it we’d have almost a hundred kids there. I mean, I know Storybrooke is larger than it seems, but a hundred abandoned kids is a lot.”

Ashley shook her head. “That’s sad, but I’m glad you started it. It was really disturbing to find out people leave their kids in the woods. I don’t care what the reasons.”

“Well, at least it’s not the woods anymore,” Emma pointed out. Every now and then they might find a kid in a forest, but most of Safe Place’s children had gotten there from being left at the hospital or fire station.

“That doesn’t make it better, so it’s good that Safe Place is there now. Those kids need help,” Thomas chimed in.

“Yeah, I think the townspeople need help more than the kids,” Emma remarked.

“Some of them,” Ashley said.

“Yeah, I know. Most folks are good eggs and help out a lot. Now, Regina’s trying to get money for the place because there’s always new kids coming in. Haven’t these people ever heard of condoms?” Emma huffed.

“You’d be surprised. Parents who abandon kids like this tend to have other kids already,” Thomas said.

And this made Emma sick. “The Enchanted Forest, giving me nightmares one new fact at a time.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Snow argued.

“I’m sure it wasn’t too you, but the kid left in the woods might argue different,” Emma snapped. “But, then again, you’re also against giving Regina funds for Safe Place, so I guess you would figure it wasn’t that bad.”

“It’s not even like that. Regina hasn’t submitted the proper paperwork and there’s nothing in the budget for her very private organization right now,” David stated.

“I’m sure.” Emma rolled her eyes. The eternal struggle of Prince Charming and the Evil Queen. At least Regina had stopped losing to the guy all the time, but she still lost the big things. Without the title of mayor, Safe Place had taken a hit financially, but since Belle was involved, she donated enough to keep the kids fed and warm. Other citizens also helped out. It was nice that all of Storybrooke did not think it was okay to abandon kids.

After a couple of hours, the group dispersed. Emma and Odette returned home. Regina had snacks out – peanut butter and jelly rolls, which remained Emma’s favorite treat. It was awesome to share this with Odette. Henry came in just in time to get the last few. With Henry in the house, he was on “big brother” duty and their mothers had some time to themselves.

Henry liked playing games with Odette and reading to her. Regina worried about Odette playing his video games, but as long as the two were bonding, she never stepped in. Odette loved hanging out with her big brother, finding him cool, especially when he made little side comments about situations. Emma was certain that was Regina’s influence, but Regina claimed it was Emma’s.

They had a family dinner. Henry did his homework while Odette got to see some cartoons. Regina and Emma tended to sit through the cartoons as well, wanting to know what their daughter was learning. Regina took Odette away for her bath after a couple of shows. After the bath was a little Mommy/daughter time where Regina brushed Odette’s hair and braided it to make sure did not tangle. Emma stayed out of that, preferring to goof off with Henry during that time. 

Once Odette was tuck snuggly in the bed, Emma came up and read bedtime stories to Odette with Regina. _Horton Hears a Who_ was always a favorite. Odette was also a fan of _Oh, the Places You’ll Go!_ Regina sat on one side of the bed and Emma the other. They left the book in front of Odette, wanting her to read along. She recognized some words at this point, which Emma thought was amazing. There were times when Regina had to literally convince Emma their children were not geniuses because of some of the things they did.

“Mommy… Mama… you gotta… you gotta… you gotta kiss Duckie good night,” Odette reminded them, struggling to keep her eyes open after a couple of stories.

Regina and Emma chuckled before leaning down to do as requested. Odette smiled as they kissed her as well. Emma rubbed Odette’s forehead as the child settled into her pillow and drifted off to the sleep within seconds.

“She’s so adorable,” Emma said as Odette held Duckie close to her chest in her sleep. Princess the puppy also had a place on the bed.

“She is that,” Regina concurred and reached across the bed to rub Emma’s bicep. “While I have no doubt I could do this myself, Emma, I’m glad you’re here.”

Emma arched an eyebrow. “You mean reading?” She knew Regina meant the whole “family/parenting” thing. Leaning across their dozing daughter, Emma kissed Regina. “I’m glad to share this with you. Thank you for having me.”

Regina smirked. “As if I could get rid of you.”

“I am definitely a bad rash when it comes to you.”

Regina rolled her eyes, but she smiled. They parted ways. Emma went to hang out with Henry again. They played some video games once he was done with his homework. He had gotten too cool to hang out with her for long, having friends he needed to connect with on the game and girls he needed to text… not that Regina knew about the girls. Henry had a long, probably uncomfortable talk ahead of him when Regina finally did find out he had discovered girls. Until then, she teased him about it.

“How was driving?” Emma asked, leaning over as she tried to avoid being shot in the game. The movement did not help, but it was instinct for her.

“A lot of ‘slow down, Henry,’ ‘there’s a stop sign, Henry,’ watch out for that – fill in the blank – Henry.’” He laughed as he jammed the buttons, as he had a habit of doing. She doubted he would be happy until one day he snapped the controller in half.

She grinned. “Oh, so the usual, eh?”

“I’m gonna drive off a cliff one day, just to freak her out,” he joked.

“Hey, look at it this way, you endure this and then she’ll show you how to balance your accounts, cheat on your taxes, and budget things for when you go to college,” Emma teased.

He laughed more. “Cheating on my taxes does sound pretty hardcore.”

“Don’t knock it. In ten years, you’ll appreciate the skill a lot more than being able to kill zombie Nazis.”

He grinned. “I know Mom has a million great things to teach me, but I prefer you for driving and I think she does, too. She actually had a hair out of place by the time we got out of the car.”

Emma burst out laughing. “That must have been some lesson.” _Regina is going to kill us both one day if she ever hears Henry’s wiseassery like this_.

After an hour of games, Emma left Henry on his own and went to Regina’s office, wanting to spend time with her again. She sat down on the chaise and Regina got up from her desk, joining Emma without a word. Emma kissed Regina and Regina returned it, making Emma feel light and loved on the inside. When they pulled away Regina went back to her paperwork, but did not leave her spot next to Emma.

“Is that for Safe Place?” Emma asked.

“Yes.”

“David says you didn’t file the paperwork for a grant.”

Regina scoffed. “Do you honestly believe I skipped out on paperwork?”

Emma grinned. “Of course not. I thought it was weird, but whatever. I’m sorry I messed up whatever truce or thing you had with them.”

Regina waved her off. “You didn’t mess anything up, sweetling. They’ve made their decisions. This was their bad move. Safe Place will continue on without them. Archie has promised more of his time for counseling, Belle has gotten a couple more teachers for tutoring after school, and donations continue to come in. Safe Place will survive.”

Emma hugged Regina to her. Seeing Regina pour so much of herself into Safe Place made Emma fall in love with her all over again, each and every time. She knew Regina did not do this for her, but she often took it like that and she felt special because of that. Of course, she felt special just because Regina loved her and would probably do anything for her as well.

“You know, I love you, Regina Mills,” Emma said.

“I love you, too. For whatever reason,” Regina replied, as if it was such a great burden. Sometimes, it probably was.

Emma chuckled and kissed Regina again. Regina paused from her duties to return the kiss with must more gusto than before. Feeling Regina’s lips move against her made Emma’s heart race and her skin warm. Reaching up a hand, Emma caressed Regina’s cheek down to her neck. They pulled away before things go a little more heated. Regina had work to finish, after all.

Emma loved this woman who took care of her and accepted her, bad habits and all. Regina, even now, did not try to change her. Even when they clashed, Regina just fought with her and moved on. She never asked Emma to be anything other than Emma and so she never asked Regina to be anything beyond Regina. They were imperfect, but they worked and if Regina had not taught her anything else, this was enough.

“I hope you’re setting this up to tell me how Odette’s change of clothes were ripped along with her original outfit,” Regina commented with a playful smirk.

Emma laughed. “Oh, god. You and Henry are going to kill me tonight. Look, we both know how little Odette Mills is when she’s around Alex. They’re going to be two tough broads.”

An elegant eyebrow arched. “Did you just refer to our daughter and her best friend as broads?”

“You should hear what I call them when you’re not around.”

Regina frowned. “You keep this up and you’ll be babysitting on Saturday while _I_ go out with my friends.”

“You wouldn’t dare. Saturday is Ladies Night for you and the girls. How would they feel if you left them to us on Saturday?” Emma teased.

Regina shook her head. Emma smiled and kissed Regina once more because kissing was always a good move. Regina did have an almost standing date with their daughter on Saturday, doing what Emma had labeled “lady things.” Whenever Thomas and Ashley hung out with Emma, Regina watched their daughter as well. Sometimes, she took them on little afternoon shopping trips where they would return with tales of Evelyn creating outfits for them and talks of tea and cake. It was too rich of Emma’s blood.

“You are quite lucky I do love you,” Regina said.

“I am well aware, Miss Mills,” Emma teased. “I miss being able to say ‘Madam Mayor.’”

“Give it two years.”

“Confident aren’t we?”

“I have all the reason to be. After all, the mess from those goblins continues to prove I shouldn’t have left office. Now, you clearly still need attention and I’m never going to be able to get through this with you in here. So, how about we retire for the night?” Regina suggested.

Emma grinned and nodded eagerly. She did need Regina’s attention and Regina was almost always happy to oblige her. So, they retired to their bedroom, ending their nights in the same way almost every daily. While they might not always make love, they at least kissed, cuddled, and talked about everything, from their days to their childhoods. For them both this was more intimate than anything else. This was the best attention of all. This was what they both craved and needed. This was what healed them and kept them together. They were two sides of the same marked up, scarred coin. They made each other whole. They found each other when they were lost.

-8-8-8-8- 

The end.

Well, thank you for sticking around for another tale from this Lunatic. I’m going to return to my padded cell, but I will be back. This pairing intrigues me. I hope you return when I do. Thank you again. I appreciate all of the support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna see more of my fanfics, they're all at FFN under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fanfiction.net/~starvinglunatic). If you wanna see some original stories, you can look at FP under [StarvingLunatic](https://www.fictionpress.com/u/576301/).


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